


The life of Zach xiao

by zachlorthan



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bisexual Character, Blood, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Group Sex, Guns, Happy Sex, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Monsters, Multi, OC, Other, Romance, Smut, Surprise Sex, Swords, Threesome - F/F/M, Werecat, faunus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-02-14 23:27:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2207040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zachlorthan/pseuds/zachlorthan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>OC backstory for team ZWBL, which is being renamed BLWZ at a request.currently being remastered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music that enhances your reading experience. (The list is not in order, merely suggested songs)  
> Through the fire and the flames, DragonForce  
> Jesus of suburbia, green day  
> Sound of winter, Bush  
> Battle born, or house of the rising sun, five finger death punch  
> Time to say goodbye, Jeff Williams (RWBY)  
> Headstrong, trapt  
> Thanks for the memories, fall out boy, produced surprising reactions despite its irrelevance.

Zach stood in the metal bay of the repurposed cargo mech. His ears, the lion ears perched on his head, almost hidden by his spiked mane of golden brown hair, twitched, listening for the sound of the approaching train. So far it had been hours without a sound. 

Around him stood or sat an assorted group of humans and faunus. Each one was armed with a deadly dust weapon, most of them stock, but a few personalized weapons here and there. They were a raiding party, here to grab some much needed supplies for the gang, although this was a rather unusual assignment. It was the first time they had ever tried to hit something this big, and grab so much of one object.

Of note, their were three people in particular that he knew. A female faunus named Jason. She was a tiger, and her reputation had lead to her being known as Tiger Lilly. She was vicious, both strong and beautiful, and was a killer, trained by the gang for the soul purpose of tearing down their most dangerous enemies. As a child, she had sworn a vow of silence, and for 12 years, she hasn't said a word. 

At least, not with her mouth. For reasons beyond either of their capacities to explain, she was able to telepathically speak to Zach. They had first discovered this talent when she saved his life during a mission, mentally warning him of an ambush. She was 17, still somewhat short for her age, with auburn hair and fuzzy orange/black tiger ears sticking out of her hair. Like so many feline female faunus, her ears were irresistible. But after two broken hands and one man in the emergency room, people had learned not to touch them.

Then there was Billy, a newcomer to the gang, and on his first assignment. He was a young human, barely 16, with light blue hair, and a smooth tan complexion, just dark enough to be noticeable. He was about 5 and a half feet tall, and insisted on dressing in ocean blue clothes, to match his hair. He had run away from home after 'accidentally' blowing up the science department at his last school while experimenting with unstable chemicals. 

He kept looking at the compartment door, and was twitching in anticipation, stroking his weapon,a wicked curved blade that doubled as a machine pistol. He was constantly checking the slide mechanism, sliding it back, then slowly sliding it forward again. The whole weapon collapsed like a butterfly knife when it wasn't needed.

And finally, the mission director, a man named Oswald Titus, a faunus of reputation and a supporter of the new leader of the gang. His reputation was even more renown than Jason's, though only because Jason had been in a sort of black section of the gang, her missions kept secret. He was a bear, although exactly what kind was unknown and unconfessed by him, and the only evidence of it being claws hidden within his fingers. It was said that his family had a history with the Putnic War, and that his home was burned to the ground, his family still inside, by a group of antifaunus humans. It was still a mystery as to why he agreed to work with the humans in the gang.

Zach felt a mental nudge as Jason sent him a thought. 'Train inbound, 10 minutes out'. 

That was all. Even in his head, she never spoke much. Though it was a thought she sent him, whenever she spoke to him, he swore he could hear a voice. It was quiet, light and sweet, but scarred from something. He relayed the message out loud, and Titus used his radio to relay it to team two. Zach didn't know anyone in that team, and couldn't understand why both were involved. It was a simple mission, even if it was unusual. Capture a dust train, transport it and the crew back to base in Vale. There should be no need for so many bodies at once.

Zach felt the mech sway under him as it stood, it's pilots expertly guiding it into position. On cue, he pulled a lever, the rear door of the compartment opening. A brief breeze played across his face, and he caught a wiff of burning dust, signaling the train's approach. Next to Zach stood Billy, preparing to stop the train if he had to. He had the ability to control certain types of metal. Not quite magnetism, but something similar. He would make a deadly opponent, and that worried Zach.

The gang, who referred to themselves as the Gentlemen, had started out as a simple street gang, and indeed, hadn't been a gang at all. The leader owned a massive abandoned hotel in the city of Vale, and had turned it into a homeless shelter. People of all ages and races were welcomed, no questions asked, as long as they left their issues outside. Then the leader had died, and the mantle was handed down to a good, but somewhat misguided man. When he was struggling to make ends meet, he hired some of the homeless to do some theft jobs, strictly small time, mostly pickpocketing. After a few years, all the homeless were participating, and became like family, leading to them becoming a gang.

The name came when a women, who was reporting about the gang activities, said that "many of the criminals are described as being 'perfect gentlemen' even as they stripped you of your belongings". They now owned a small empire, responsible for a third of the all the crime committed in the kingdom of Vale, and after building a large, reliable base of contacts and contracts, began to deal in slightly more devious crimes, like stolen cars, weapons, and dust. The only thing they refused was murder of anyone they thought was 'innocent'.

Recently, that leader had died, and the mantle was voted for, since no clear will was ever found. A faunus named Jack Bolero won the elections, and had begun to make changes that worried some of the gang members. Most of those who spoke out, however, disappeared, and new, nasty characters began appearing in the gang. Some of the older, more violent members of the gang had begun to go on more illicit missions, threatening people who owed money, beating them when they couldn't or refused to pay the dept back, until a man was openly killed in the streets. The smooth talking president played it off, banning the man who committed the task, saying that he had nothing to do with it. Zach may have believed him, if it weren't for the fact that the man killed had been a police deputy pushing for a raid on the gang. Things continued to get worse. 

Zach had decided, no matter what, this was his last mission with the Gentlemen, then he would leave. Jason had agreed to come with him, and together, they planned to head to Beacon, a highly renown advanced combat school, at the start of this year's semester.

Through the open rear door, he had a clear view of the train tracks, and the other mech. Each mech was originally designed for transporting equipment through large construction areas. When The Gentlemen had stolen them, they were turned into war machines. Dust cannons and machine guns were mounted on them, though they were mainly used for intimidation. Zach had never seen them used, but they were always kept in combat ready condition.

With a nod to his positional counter part in the opposite mech, they both pushed buttons situated within special boxes next to the doors. Explosives rigged to the elevated train track blew, and a twenty foot section of track fell to the ground below. With the mechs safely hidden in the trees, they waited. Five minutes later, the train was heard rumbling down the track. The train's early warning system registered the missing track, and slowed to a stop roughly 10 feet away. Textbook.

Zach signalled the other mech, and together, the two machines swung out of the woods, spilling their living cargo onto the track. 18 gang members swarmed the front of the train. Standard issue combat and defense robots responded, trying to stem the flow of enemies. At the front of the assault was Zach and Jason, dancing around each other as they destroyed mech after mech after mech. Their telepathic connection allowed them to seamlessly meld their fighting styles. Machine parts flew as the made their way down the train. Whenever a living opponent appeared, they knocked them unconscious, standard raid procedure. 

Zach fought with a dual bladed sword, which separated at the center of the handle to make two separate swords. Each blade was only single sided, meant more for slashing than stabbing. The individual blades could also form automatic shotguns, the hilts curving into the grips and a barrel widening above the blade, allowing the user to continue slashing even as he mowed down mobs with buckshot.

Lilly actually fought with a variety of weapons, a testament to her training. This time she was using a pair of cat claw katars, a weapon she had procured from a merchant in Haven to pay back a debt that he owed her. Each had three long, thin blades, situated above the knuckles, with an H shaped grip, like brass knuckles. A plated wrist guard reduces the strain upon the users arm when they used the curved ends of the blades to slash, like claws. She was a master with most arms, but these were her favorites, the blades retracting so it looked like she was just wearing metal gloves. Each blade was also connected to thin but strong wires, allowing them to be alternately launched and retracted in seconds.

The fight was short, since few of the humans were trained in combat, believing that the mechs would protect them. One of the train operators surprised Billy, however, tagging his shoulder with a small caliber pistol. Zach, upon seeing the wound was superficial, promptly chopped the man's neck with the straight edge of his open hand, knocking him unconscious.

In less than an hour, the train was secure, its human operators incapacitated. All of them were locked in an armored train car near the caboose When everything was ready, Titus gathered everyone in the prisoner car, saying he had received new orders. Many of the humans had suffered large wounds when they had gotten in his way, and the smell of blood and fear was thick in the confined space. Zach sat in the back with Jason, tending to Billy, barely listening to Titus as he started to speak, his voice low and menacing, yet hypnotic, like the growl of a grizzly defending its territory. 

"Brothers. Sisters. Today, we have won but a small victory against this world that has mistreated us. Many of us became homeless because of the rules of this society. Foreclosed houses, loss of jobs to these blasted robots, prejudice, war in the outer reaches, all of it. We have become a scourge to society, and even those closest to us turned their backs on us in our hour of need. Some of us lost our families. Fathers and brothers, sisters and mothers. But we were all looked after by our founder. 

The great Wilson Cole, owner of our new home. He took us on, providing for us when no one else would. His only askance of us was that we kept the peace while in our new home. He was a hero to us, and a radical to the society that left us behind. Then, sadly, he passed, leaving the mantle on the shoulders of another great man. 

Kyle Sang Lee, who showed us our potential, opening a door to a new world, were we controlled our own destinies. What others saw as crimes, he saw as opportunity. We learned to do the things that make us thrive now. And then tragedy struck, as he too died. 

But the darkness did not last, and we now find ourselves under the glorious leadership of Jack Bolero. And he has a dream. He wants what's fair for all. He has seen the corruption in the legal systems of today, of the government, and has decided that he will change it!" He let lose a savage roar, echoing along with the applause of his crowd, a performer drinking in the adoration of those waiting for the finale .

Zach's ears perked. This was the first time he had heard such a thing. He gave an alarmed glance at Jason, and could see the shock and worry on her face.

"These pigs are as much monsters as the creatures of Grimm, growing fat on the misery of others! Of us! So we will no longer treat them with the kindness that we used to. You don't take a monster prisoner, do you? Pigs are meant to be slaughtered, and in this, our new world, that is exactly what we will do!"

He turned, leveling a pistol on one of the prisoners. The applause intensified, the young members of the gang giving into their bloodlust, the speech having pulled them in. Zach, however, was not drawn in by the pretty words of the monster in front of him. He dove forward through the crowd, shoving members out of his way, yelling "NO!" Even as the shot rang out. The prisoner, a plain looking man with brown hair and pale skin, jerked as the bullet punched into his chest, blood spreading over his smock in a rapidly widening circle. For one terrible second, he was looking Zach in the eye, filled with fear, sadness, confusion, and accusation.

Zach and Jason jumped forward to try and save him, but, seeing this, Titus turned the gun on the two of them. "If you try and save this monster, you will join him!" Zach continued forward at a near sprint, his anger dropping a red veil over his vision. Titus fired, but the shot went wild as Zach jumped. He landed on Titus, and the two rolled out of the train car, and onto an open deck. The gun went off, and Zach felt the bullet punch through the soft flesh of his right arm. Blood began to pour from the wound, but even as they rolled, he felt the wound being healed by his aura. It had missed the most important parts, it seemed. Searing pain flooded his thoughts, but only fuelled his rage, and with a heavy shove, he managed to throw Titus off. The gun was sent flying over the edge, dropping out of sight.

 

"you wish me dead, kitten?" he said as they sprung apart, throwing as much scorn into his voice as possible. "You can't defeat me. No one ever has!" 

He drew his sword, a massive broadsword with two wicked edges. The weapon had supposedly been a part of the Putnic War, and had seen many men and women dead. He charged, swinging the sword in a devastating one handed overhead attack. Flipping forward under it, Zach drew his swords, keeping them separate. He wouldn't be able to use the fancy acrobatics he could usually perform in enclosed spaces.

With a backhanded swing, Titus almost took his head off, but Zach managed to use his semblance, allowing him to teleport about a foot backward, opening as much space as he could between them. Unfortunately, his semblance was a massive drain on his energy, with longer jumps burning more energy. Titus's arm swung wide, leaving his chest exposed, and in the opening, Zach jumped in with a vicious series of slashes and jabs, opening numerous wounds in Titus's chest and arms, blood flowing freely from the wounds, despite their less than serious nature.

He wasn't fazed.

The great sword retraced its path, full force,coming in what would be a devastating Bear hug, and the end of Zach. He jumped, aiming the swords down and fired them, giving him the added lift he needed to make the jump. He flipped back, landing and rolling, avoiding another strike by inches. The bear's energy seemingly endless as he wielded his massive sword, Zach was forced to continue dodging the blows, remaining defensive, the broadsword cutting chunks of metal out of the deck below him. 

Despite his size, Titus had surprising maneuverability, able to swing in almost any direction with massive force. He kept Zach moving, forcing him to stay focused on defense, unable to fire any shots without putting himself in a more dangerous position. 

But then titus made a mistake. He stepped forward for a particularly long swing and his foot stepped into a gash in the middle of the platform. His swing went wide, the sword cutting deep into the deck as his leg gave way beneath him, and Zach saw his chance. 

He jumped back in as the man yanked the sword free, and slashed the back of Titus's knee, severing the muscle with viscous effectiveness. He twirled like a dancer, graceful even as he placed the barrel of his shot-sword against the back of the mans leg, pulling the trigger in the hilt and blowing out the front of his knee cap. The wound partly cauterized as fire spewed from the buckshot.

The big man gave a cry as he fell, the sword spilling from his hands as blood dripped from the remains of his mangled legs. Zach stood over his defeated opponent, who was blubbering, asking for forgiveness one minute, then cursing him for betraying his cause the next. Zach considered killing him just to shut him up, but then he surveyed the gathered crowd of followers. Some looked shocked, but most were angry. He could read the tension in their faces, an animalistic empathy granted to faunus, and he knew that if they stayed much longer, they would be attacked. Jumping forward, he grabbed Billy's uninjured arm.

Zach turned to Jason, and nodded. They turned as one and fled from their brothers, disappearing into the woods. After a few miles they stopped. Billy had left his sword on the train, Zach still had a hole in his arm, though it was closing fast, and Jason was just tired. Billy hadn't originally been part of the plan, and Zach still wasn't sure why he had grabbed him.

'He'll only slow us down.' Jason said, and Zach couldn't disagree. 

He turned to Billy, considering for a moment, then made up his mind and said "do you know why I grabbed you? Its because you're too young for this. I don't give a damn how badass you think you are, the way the gang's going, you won't live through it. And if you do, the you that comes out the other side won't be something pretty." 

Billy looked at him and said "Then what are you two doing? Take me with you. I don't have any were else to go, so its not like you can just tell me to go home. Thanks to you, I don't have a home. Those guys back there didn't see you dragging me away, they saw me running with you guys. So you owe me. Where are you planning to go, huh?"

Zach gave Jason a pleading look, and she rolled her eyes and said 'fine, he can come. But if he doesn't pull his weight, I won't hesitate to leave him behind.'

He turned back to Billy, and said "you can come, but if you get in our way, you'll wish you hadn't asked me that. We're going to Beacon, but we have to buy some forged transcripts. Because I lost my temper back there, we left without our money. We were planning on leaving when we returned from this mission. We had been saving up lien for months, and we had enough for three and some to spare. Unfortunately, the bag is sitting in my room at HQ. All we have is what's in our pockets."

"So what's the plan for cash?" Billy asked.

Zach thought for a moment, flashing through half a dozen ideas before remembered a place were gang members were banned from going. A place so dark and underhanded, even the lowest of the low often refused to go there. And he smiled.

"I have an idea."


	2. the dance of devils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When desperate for money, our hero's attempt to make up for it in an illicit fighting ring. There will be flash backs to some of the fights during later chapters, so don't be disappointed.

Jason stood in a dark corner of a section of warehouse, studying the room for an easy target through the film of greasy smoke sputtering from the candles and torches situated around the room. It could have easily been lit with electricity, but then again, fire was free, and the people in charge hated to give away money. On top of that, they couldn't exactly afford to be on the grid.

It had been 2 weeks since the train incident, and the trio had come upon a rather unpleasant problem. Being that they had been raised by the gang, they had no school records, except Billy, and he had been expelled. Without such a crucial item, they would never get into Beacon. Zach had come up with a completely ridiculous plan to earn the money they needed to forge documents for the three of them.

Zach stood on the smooth dirt floor, walls raised all around him, situated in a 30 foot circle. A single pillar stood at the very center of the ring. The pit stank of blood, sweat, and death. The roar of the crowd assailed his ears as he stood over yet another defeated opponent. In 3 days, Zach had become the most well known fighter in the underground rings, and in a week, he had killed countless creatures of Grimm, and had defeated a dozen men and faunus.

Billy stood on a section of scaffolding near one of the exits. This was the third ring Zach had fought in. The first was burned down by a disgruntled better, his chosen warrior beaten by a mere child. The second was swarmed by police. In both situations, they had required quick exits, and that was Billy's job. Zach would fight in the pits, earning money for his wins. Jason pickpocketed the crowd, adding a lien here and there. Billy kept an eye out for trouble, and providing an exit whenever it came.

Zach left the ring, collecting his earning as he did, and found a section of bench unoccupied. As he lay down, fatigue settled in, dragging his eyelids down and a tired sigh from his battered body. Jason approached, standing watch as the warrior slept. Technically speaking, pickpocketing was only illegal in the rings if you were stupid enough to get caught. She kept watch to ensure no one took Zach's winnings.

His sleep was dreamless, and she could attest to it. Over the past week, their mental link had grown stronger, attributed to the fact that they were in mental and physical contact almost 24/7. She could see his dreams, and vise versa. Occasionally, when they were asleep at the same time, they would share dreams. Nightmares, however, became increasingly unpleasant with another person present.

The past week had taken it's toll on Zach. Though he was the toughest fighter, his styles of fighting often left him open to small hits here and there. Normally, the damage was healed by his aura, but because he refused to kill any non Grimm opponent, his purses for winning were cut in half. Because of this, he forced himself to fight at least 4 times a day, and often as many as 10. The purses added up, but so did the wounds. His aura couldn't recharge fast enough to heal his injuries and protect him from further damage, so he was forced to focus it on softening the blows he took.

After an hour, it was Zach's turn again. Jason woke him with a mental touch, reminding him that In two more matches, they would have enough to pay for the transcripts. Zach stood and shook himself, throwing off his weariness and reaching for a reserve of strength that he wasn't sure he possessed. He walked down the ramp to the gate. 

The gate opened, and Zach walked into the arena. 

He looked up at the crowd above him, and let out a savage lion roar that could have scared a full grown Ursa. Instead, it only fueled the crowd's anticipation for the fight. The other gate opened, and Zach drew his dual bladed sword, which was named Heaven And Earth. He separated it, wanting it ready for either firing or slashing.

Out of the other gate poured a juvenile Death Stalker, old enough that its poison was active, but young enough that it wasn't complete suicide to try and catch.

The creature let out a screech, like rusted metal on a rock, and charged one of the walls, it's stinger stabbing up, falling just short of the crowd. Its claws, each one easily half the size of Zach, gouging out chunks of the wall in front of it. Wanting to end the fight as quickly as he could, he started toward the massive scorpion, but up above, a spectator, who probably bet on the bug, tossed a bucket full of garbage into the pit, splattering the floor in nasty smelling gunk, the clang of the bucket getting the creature's attention.

Jason was in among the crowd, a deft touch here, a light tap there, and her many pockets began to fill with ill gotten lien. She heard a commotion over by the edge of the pit, and turned to see a sour looking man dumping a bucket into the arena. The resulting squeal of the bug followed by Zach's roar was enough to tell her what happened, even if her connection with Zach hadn't. She slid over to the edge of the ring to get a closer look. 

From Billy's vantage point, he was able to see the whole arena. He was entranced by the way Zach danced around the creature, forcing it to attack and tire itself out. His attention was diverted from the performance when a man roughly shoved him aside. He was tempted to shout the man down, but something about his appearance made him stop. 

He was about 5'10", with dark olive skin and sandy blond hair. He wore expensive looking, but still plain, black clothes with a flaming design playing across both shoulders. He had a pair of metal gauntlets on his hands, slim, and light. His face was covered with a thin black veil, dark enough to hide his features. He was making his way to the edge of the ring at an overly hurried pace.

Jason was enthralled by Zach's performance, he a perfect blend of a lion's grace and a man's ingenuity, the creature a savage beauty of killing perfection. Zach could sense her feelings pouring through their mental link, and he had to admit that the creature before him had a certain grace to it. His smugness about his own looks were felt by Jason, but before she could shut him down with a scathing comment, she was roughly shoved aside, something black and red launching itself into the ring.

Zach jumped back as something large and black slammed down onto the Death Stalker from outside the ring. The giant scorpions legs collapsed under it, a loud crack filling the air as it's armored exoskeleton crumbled, as if it had taken a massive weight. Standing on its back was a man in red and black robes, flames on his shoulders. On his hands were metal gauntlets, black in color, and thick but slim, oddly angular. And then he spoke.

"Zach Xiao. Age 19. 5 feet, 9 inches. Male, faunus, lion genome. Target acquired." Before Zach could react, the man threw off his robe, revealing a highly toned chest and arms. He wore only tight black jeans. His muscles were like a runners, no fat, but not a lot of muscle either, but Zach wasn't fooled. The man had killed a Death stalker simply by landing on it. 

Then the man slammed his palms together, the metal gauntlets clanging like thunder. The metal began to flow like water, moving up his arms, across his chest and down his stomach. It moved up his neck, covering his face and hardening, taking a shape not unlike that of a biker's helmet and face mask. As it closed around his feet, the metal stopped flowing. He now stood encased in a suit of armor.

He flexed, and the metal suit shimmered. Zach fired both of his shot-swords, which he had loaded with slugs for the match, but the dust tipped rounds just sparked of the armor, not even scuffing it. 'Oh crap' was his only thought as the man jumped at him. His armored fist slammed into the ground were Zach had stood moments before. 

The ground, hard packed after years of fights, was pulverized, and cracks flowed from the impact point, across the floor and up the walls. Zach was immediately aware that this was not an opponent he could beat. He turned, sheathing his swords as jumped at the wall, and used his claws to climb up. He made it to the top, but as he pulled himself up, the man landed in front of him, having jumped up from the pit as if it was nothing. 'Oh, fuck'

Jason saw the man jump down, and was about to go down after him, but suddenly a group of armed men, situated around the room, and at all the exits, began firing into the crowd of viewers. The men had appeared out of nowhere, taking advantage of the crowds confusion at the appearance of the new challenger.

Some of the spectators began firing back, using weapons they smuggled in, but they were caught off guard, unable to pull together for a counter attack, and fell under a withering hail of bullets. Soon the air was full of screams and gunshots. 

A man wielding a sword came flying out of the crowd, killing two men guarding the door with shotguns. He brought the men down, but in the process took a shot to the stomach. As he fell, the door was swarmed with people trying to run for their lives. Unfortunately, this just made them easier targets.

Seeing this display of mindless slaughter, Jason's anger shot straight up. Like many of the predatory faunus, she could succumb to a condition called the Blood Veil. When enraged, the animal instincts within will erupt, replacing the faunus's rationality with massive strength without direction, a sort of extreme version of fight or flight. Faunus could be taught to control it, however, and Jason was especially good at that.

She funneled her anger into a point. The men shooting. She saw Billy using his ability to control metal by redirecting or stopping the bullets. He was flagging, though, and any minute, the men would notice him. Jason dove at one man, and used her semblance. Her ability was incredible, technically falling under the term adaptability.

She was able to absorb and then use any ability she encounters. It's almost never as strong, but it came in handy, especially now. She selected an ability from her memories, which would allow her to summon her weapons out of thin air, and with a shimmer of light, she was holding her katars. The blades flashed, and the man's gun, hand still attached, flew into the pit. The man gave a scream, but was silenced quickly by Jason. Unfortunately, all of the men were drawn by the cry from the opposite side of the room.

They turned, and the sight that greeted them would scar them for the rest of their lives, however long that would be. A young faunus, her ears flat on her head, her reddish brown hair flying behind her, was in mid twirl, vicious looking blades flying, blood soaking her from head to toe. 

And she was smiling.

Billy was under attack from a man who had run out of bullets. He had drawn a katana, and charged. Billy drew his weapon, a foot long rod that, when touched by him, elongated into a spear. The tip of the spear glowed hot, but Billy was no master of weapons, especially this one, which had been gifted to him by Jason, to replace his sword. 

The man he faced had clearly used his weapon for years, toying with Billy as he dodged as best he could. However, his opponent soon tired of the game, and with a movement at almost inhuman speed, he flicked his sword down the entire length of the spear, forcing Billy to either drop the weapon or lose his hands.

He stepped back, trying to get away, but felt something soft trip him. He fell backwards over the body of a fat human and landed on the ground. His opponent leapt in the air, about to finish of him with a flair, when he was suddenly flying tackled by Jason, who had slammed Into him with a wild cry. It was the first sound Billy had ever heard her make, a vicious yet beautiful mixture of animal snarl and human cry.

They fell in a heap, and Billy scrambled back to avoid the mass of flesh, cloth and blades. Jason motioned to him as best she could, pointing to something behind him, and he turned, noticing that Zach's fight wasn't going well.

Zach slammed into a set of scaffolding next to the wall, and it collapsed behind him. He looked up as the armored man walked slowly toward him. 'I can't beat him. He's too strong. No one should be that strong.' He tried to allow the Blood veil to fall, but his energy had been drained from all the fights he had participated in. He remembered how Jason had told him to take his time, and as he struggled to his feet, thought 'I hate it when she's right.'

Zach was weaving on unsteady feet, his eyes unfocused as he readied himself. The man in the armor threw him against the wall without any resistance, and cocked his arm, ready to put his fist through Zach's skull. But suddenly he was yanked back, as if he weighed nothing, and thrown out a window on the opposite side of the room.

Billy collapsed at the sudden drain in energy from using his semblance. Blood dripped from his nose, the strain being almost enough to kill him. Jason, having finished off her opponent, rushed over and dragged him to his feet. They found Zach on the ground, unconscious.

Together, they managed to carry Zach out an exit Jason had cleared while she was fighting. They found a car, Jason hot wiring it, and drove away from the warehouse of death behind them, even as sirens began to sound in the night. Jason drove, still covered in congealed blood, as Billy kept Zach upright in the back. 

"What do we do now?" Asked Billy, shaking from the energy he used and the adrenal fatigue from the battle. Zach groaned, waking enough to hear him, and whispered something. They couldn't hear him, but he lifted his hand, and showed them something he had managed to grab. A large leather bag. Billy took it and opened it.

It was stuffed with hundred lien bills, easily enough to buy the transcripts three times each. It was the wage man's bag, filled with betting and purse money from everyone attending. How Zach had managed to swipe it, and indeed, how they had missed him carrying such a large bag, was beyond them. Zach slipped back into darkness, listening to the hum of the car's engine.


	3. memories of a beautiful catastrophe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zach recounts how he had met Jason, unaware of an enemy closing in.

Jason approached the door at the end of the hall, in a seedy motel in the industrial district of Vale, the money for the forged documents in her bag. 'Three knocks, then two' she thought to herself, committing the password to memory. Not that it was all that hard. She never forgot anything, although, according to doctors, she didn't have photographic memory. It was one of the reasons her a ability was so useful. She never forgot any of the abilities she had seen.

She knocked on the door of room 237, first three, two second pause, then two more. After 18.9 seconds, the door opened. Before it was even half way open, Jason could smell the cheap liquor and cigar smoke that filled the room. The man behind it was just as rundown as the hotel he was in. 

He was hunched, his face acne scared and pale, a testament to his preference of computers over people. His room was filled with trash from hundreds of fast food deliveries, yet he was unnaturally thin, possibly because he often lost track of time, forgetting to eat for days at a time. He eyed her with undisguised lust. An almost impressive stack of porn magazines sat in one corner. 

Confident that she could defend herself he tried something, she handed him the note she had brought with her. 

'I'm here for the transcripts. I have the money. If you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you.'

He read the note and chuckled."A feisty one, huh? I wish more a' the girls that came by were like you. Don't fret. You may be a pretty little thing, but I learned a long time ago to keep my hands tu myself." He showed her his left hand, which was missing two finger. Jason shrugged, unimpressed.

"I shouldn't figure that would make much difference to someone like you. Ya gotta look aboucha. You've seen worse. Probably done worse too. Ah well."

Jason gritted her teeth, doing her best to display her impatience. It wasn't easy without talking, but living with the boys for three weeks had given her plenty of practice, and she managed. 

The man chuckled again, saying "alright, alright, I get the point. Ya came for the papers, and I'm ramblin'. Names Jim by the by, not that it matters" he said, as he began shuffling about a set of boxes. "I know I left em around here somewhere. I lose stuff every now and then, but..... Ah, here it is." He straightened as best he could, and gave her a smile that wouldn't have looked out of place on a corpse.

"Here they are, three transcripts for a basic combat school in Haven. Normally it ain't my business to ask, but why go for a school from Haven, and not here in Vale? Ah, but that's why they sent you and not the boy from before, huh? You don't talk. That other boy wouldn't stop talking. Hey, don't worry, he didn't say a thing worth listening to anyway. Now, the payment, if you please, young lady."

Jason gritted her teeth again at being treated like a child, but she handed over the bag. Jim reached in, counting out a few dozen 100 lien bills, then handing the bag back. Jason was surprised to find that a few bills still remained at the bottom. She thought she had brought exactly enough, and even still, if she had brought extra, she saw no reason he wouldn't take it.

She looked at him, expecting anything but what she got. The man gave a much more pleasant smile and said "don't get the wrong idea, little miss. I've been a father for a long time. Hardly a good one, but I've gotten over that. My point being, you remind me of my daughter, so I figure a discount could be arranged."

Jason considered the man in front of her, and realized he may not be as bad as she thought. She gave him a small smile, then turned and left. 

As soon as the door closed, the man turned toward the closet on the far side of the room. "She's gone" he said, and the wooden sliding door opened. The man from before, at the arena, stepped out. He wore the same robes as that night, still in immaculate condition despite his less than loving treatment towards them. His gauntlets were still in place.

The man's name was Hunter, as far as his employers were concerned, and he was one of the top rated assassins in the business. He was actually several hundred years old, but thanks to his sinister semblance, he was able to transfer his consciousness into another body at will. This was his tenth body. He usually shed them when they aged to about fifty years, and transfered his mind into a young and able bodied male. More than once, he had raised a kidnapped child to be his 'heir', and took over their body when the time was right. 

His gauntlets were a masterwork of metal craft, forged from a rare and difficult to work metal called Geonithium, sometimes referred to as the 'living metal' by those few who have seen it. He had lived for many lives, and planned to live many more. Whenever he shed a body, he first hid his precious weapons and his bank account numbers some place nearby, and then went back for them after successfully transferring to a new body.

He looked down at the small man in front of him, and spoke in a gruttal voice that betrayed no hint of emotion or accent. "Is the tracker in place?" He asked, his eyes hard with his distaste of his surroundings.

"Of course it is. With the amount your paying me, I should think that I'm not going to forget the little bugger, no sir, you see"

"Enough. You answered my question." He turned to leave, but Jim caught his arm. "You promised me you only have one target, but you said nothing about not hurting her. I won't activate the tracker until you promise me she walks free" he said, his eyes burning with protective fire. Hunter considered the man before him, then placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

And with a quick chop from his opposite hand, broke his neck. Simple, bloodless, and he wouldn't be found until Hunter's job was long over with. He made his way over to Jim's computer, and after a few seconds of typing, had the tracker up and running. He sent the program to a personal scroll, and turned and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason was back at their hide out in an hour, stopping to grab some food for the three of them. With her and Zach being primarily carnivorous, she grabbed some takeout from a faunus owned business down the street from the motel. Her stomach growled as she was assailed by the smell of cooking fish and meat. She ordered fast, and left at a near sprint so as to be able to enjoy the treat sooner.

She met her companions in the back room of an abandoned warehouse that she had used as a rest stop on many of her missions. She was a bred and born killer, but she originally only killed people who were more of a threat to society than to the gang itself. She had convinced herself that she was saving lives by ending others. 

Then one day, shortly after the appointing of Bolero, she was ordered to kill a family who was supposedly planning to over throw the gang and claim its territory. She refused, due to the fact that the family had three children, two of which were under the age of three. She was demoted for insubordination, and she knew that if she didn't get out, one day she wouldn't wake up.

She shook her head, purging her thoughts of the dark days of the past, and grinning to herself about the future. Zach hadn't gone to get the papers himself because he was only just recovering from the arena bout, and sending Billy again was a far from appealing prospect. She had begun to train him in the proper use of Burning Thorn, the spear she had given him, but he was still a novice, and after the incident at the arena, she wasn't about to get him killed.

She entered the room, and was greeted by Zach doing push ups in the corner while Billy counted them out. They were nearing three hundred. Billy looked up as she entered, and Zach stopped his exercises and sniffed the air, smelling the grilled salmon from one of the boxes. He licked his lips and stood up, stretching his arms up over his head. Jason had to admit that he had recovered surprisingly fast, his wounds healing almost over night, and his energy returning nearly as fast.

He felt her thoughts, but apparently mistook her admiration for some sort of impression from his muscles and scarred body. He smirked and said "I knew you loved it." And flexed for her. She considered flaying him with her thoughts, but she could sense that Zach was almost literally holding himself up out of shear willpower. Even his playful banter lacked its usual enthusiasm, and a slight tremble found its way into his voice.

To hide themselves after they were attacked at the arena, the had each changed their hair color and styles, and Zach and Jason wore hats to hide their ears. Zach's golden brown hair was shortened and thinned, till it spiked out over his head, looking rather dashing with the new black color he had chosen. He had dyed his ears too, and he now looked like a panther. Jason had gone for a deep purple color, and Zach thought she was even more beautiful than before. Of course, that was one thought he did everything in his mental power to prevent her from hearing. Billy had bleached his hair, then highlighted it a light surfer blond. It suited him better than his original light blue coloring.

Jason set out the food on the ground. Despite the amount, it had been a fairly cheap meal. Both smoked and grilled salmon, and some bar-b-que chicken for Billy. An assortment of sides accompanied the main dishes. They ate in silence, mainly because they had nothing to say, and Jason couldn't speak anyway.

After they finished off the last of the food, Zach lay down on the sleeping mat in the corner and allowed the other two to lay on him. It had become their usual procedure. Faunus, especially from feline and canine families, love to sleep together. At least, that was the reason they gave Billy when he asked why Jason had been sleeping in Zach's arms one night. The truth of the matter was simpler. 

They took comfort sleeping with someone in their arms. Billy had come to except it fairly quickly, and had decided that he enjoyed it as well. Zach had even started a 'story time' to help lull them all to sleep, telling stories of his and 'Tiger Lilly's' adventures throughout Vale. Tonight, he decided to recount how he had met Jason. He made himself comfortable, an arm draped over each of his friends' shoulders, and began his story.

"Way back then, I was only 13, but I was one of the toughest fighters in the gang. When a group was being sent out to some patch of woods out in the Wild so they could meet some hot shots from Haven who wanted to join our gangs in a mutual contract something or other, I went along as muscle. They sent me and a dozen guys to patrol the area during negotiations with the other gang. 

"I was with three other guys, and we were patrolling the west part of the woods. After something like 3 hours, Grimm hadn't shown its ugly face, and we were getting bored. We started to head back when I saw something slipping through the trees toward the meeting area. I chased after it, partly because it could have been one of the more deadly Grimm creatures, and because I was looking for a fight. I was ten feet from the clearing when I heard a voice, telling me to stop. Lilly hear thinks I'm crazy, but every time she speaks to me, I hear the voice. It's high and sweet, but with a deep underlay, like someone had beaten a songbird, so it would never be able to sing right again. 

"It broke my heart, but the other guys apparently didn't hear anything. They never stood a chance. As they stepped into the clearing, they were cut down, all of them, right in front of me. Hell, I thought my guardian angel had appeared, deciding that that day wasn't my day." 

He looked over at Jason,who was already sleeping soundly, her usual tense features relaxed, as if she didn't have a care into the world. He could almost make out her dream, like a fuzzy memory, and realized she was reliving their first meeting in her sleep. This would be a fairly interesting experience. He almost scratched her ears, then grimaced. He hated it almost as much as she did.

He realized that he had been staring at her, and turned back, ready to defend himself against Billy's teasing about how he was obviously in love with her, but he shouldn't have feared. Billy was asleep too, snoring lightly. Zach smiled to himself, and leaned back as he relived their first meeting. 

Zach had jumped back, barely avoiding a stray bullet as he ducked behind a tree. He looked around, searching for the source of the beautiful voice that had filled his thoughts, and saved his life.

'Up here' the voice said again, and this time Zach felt it more than heard, like a hum in his skull. He looked up and saw his guardian angel, a young girl, no older than eleven, sitting in the tree above him. He could hardly believe his eyes. She was beautiful, with pale skin, conflicting with her long, reddish brown hair, luminous liquid gold eyes and two fuzzy orange and white tiger ears poking out of her silky hair.

For just a moment, Zach was reminded just how young he was at the time, still just a kid. Muscles and a few small scars making him larger than most kids his age, but he was still just a little boy at the time. He was dumbstruck at the sight of what he was sure was a ghost of the woods. Her eyes showed curiosity, and hardly any recognition of the fact that three men had just been killed right in front of her. 

Her entire focus seemed to be on this child, this stranger, before her, a faunus with short gold brown hair, and two different colored eyes. Even as she watched, the eyes shifted till they were the same color. To this day, Zach swears he's never had different color eyes, but in that moment, Jason knew what she saw. One eye was a forest green, fresh like spring. But his other eye was a solid onyx color, darker than coal. Then his eyes had shifted to a more luminous green, and had been that way ever since.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to place the voice with the child in front of him.  
'I was sent to see if you would need help or not. Looks like you guys do.' The voice was there again, but the girls mouth never moved.   
He shook his head, and said "how are you doing that?"  
'What?'  
"That! Talking to me without talking!"  
'I don't know. I just think words at you, like if I was talking, and you hear them. When I saw you about to walk into the clearing, I just got this urge to do it. So I did, and it looks like it saved your life.'  
Suddenly realizing his tough guy reputation was on the line, he turned and huffed, saying "I would have been fine. I'm the toughest guy here."  
'Oh really? So if you walk in there right now, you'll make it out alive?'  
"Unfortunately, one of those guys had my gun. And I don't suppose a little girl like you would have a new one."  
'No, but I have something better.'  
This caught Zach's attention, and as he looked up, he saw her pull a heavy looking pair of swords out of thin air. She dropped them down, and he had to jump back to avoid being cut in half. He stepped forward and pulled them out of the ground. The hilts were curved, with levers located on the inside of the bend. The blades were curved towards the middle, wider at either end. It was obviously meant for hacking through light armor. On the back of each blade was what appeared to be the barrel of a small caliber shotgun, possibly a 20 gauge.

'Their called Heaven and Earth. The levers in the hilts fire Red dust rounds from the barrels in the back. You can reload them by pushing the button to the left of the blade's base. It opens a cartridge compartment in the hilt that holds three shells. You can also stow the gun portion by pushing and holding the button for a full second. The hilt will straighten, and you can connect the blades together at the base of the hilt to form a dual bladed sword.'

Zach's head was spinning from the amount of information she fed him, but he managed to find all the necessary buttons and switches in the blade. After a couple of minutes, he was taking practice swings with the blades, having stowed the guns for the moment. They were extraordinarily well made, and the balance was perfect, but something unsettled him.

"How do you know so much about weapons? Even I've never heard of something like this,and I spend most of my time around custom weaponry."  
She hung upside down from a branch in the tree, and responded simply 'I was raised with them.'  
She dropped to the ground, and said 'if you want to prove your machoness, now would be a good time. Those guys from the clearing know your here, and will start looking for you any minute now.' 

She reached behind her back, and produced a beautifully carved wooden rod. She pushed a hidden button, and the rod extended into a full length spear with a glowing red tip, roughly 5 feet long. It was almost comical next to the little girl. 'I call it Burning Thorn. I made it last year.' Once again, she kept her sentences short, and pointed, yet without immediate importance or significance.

As if drawn by the weapon, 4 men appeared from the clearing, darting between the tree towards the two children. Zach shouted "get back!" To Jason, rushing forward and deciding that he would give his life to allow her to escape. After all, even with a few fancy tricks, she was still a little girl. The men would rip her to pieces, or worse. As he swung the unfamiliar swords, one of them caught in a tree, the blade lodging in the dark wood as the handle was ripped from his hand. The sudden jerk swept his body around, actually saving his life as a swing from the man he had been about to engage swung harmlessly through open air. 

Seeing an opening, he completed the spin, slashing with the remaining blade at the mans exposed side. The blade, however, caught between two ribs, and was yanked from his hands by the struggling body. Weaponless, there was nothing he could do as the remaining three men descended on him. He closed his eyes and waited for the final blow.

It never came. 

Something rushed past him on his left, and an all too familiar sound of steel sliding into flesh, accompanied by the smell of burning meat, assailed him, and he opened his eyes to a sight so beautiful and terrible, that to this day he had never seen anything like it. Before him stood the man who he had been sure was going to kill him. And in front of that man was the girl from before, dressed in clothes of soft green and brown, blending in with the colors of the forest, auburn hair splayed, her spear in a two handed grip as she buried the glowing tip as far as she could into the man before her. The man stood frozen in mid swing, his mouth coated red, and even as Zach watched, the blood began to flow freely from the opening. With an almost disdainful flick, Jason had flung the man to the ground, her look still so utterly calm and focused.

One of the remaining men cried out, screaming "you little BITCH!" As he charged her, sword coming In for a devastating blow. Before Zach could cry out to warn her, the girl jumped straight up, and then plunged down on the mans back, the spear driving into the back of the man's neck, and out the front, the burning blade cauterizing the already deadly wound.

The third man, seeing this, turned to run, but Jason just took aim, hurling the spear at the man's back, taking him down without a sound. 

She turned to Zach, her face composed, and said 'my name is Lilly Jason Monroe. I was sent here to protect you guys if something went wrong. I was too late to save your friends though.' She looked at the clearing with sadness. 

Zach, ever tactful, said "but your just a kid!"

Her face colored, and she said 'if I'm not mistaken, so are you.' She retrieved her spear, and turned to leave, but Zach stopped her, offering her the salvaged swords.

She shook her head, saying 'keep them. One day, you may even be able to use them right.'  
She gave a surprisingly snarky grin, before turning and disappearing into the forest. Ever since that day, Zach had practiced with the blades every spare second, and every time they met afterwards, he had tried his hardest to impress her with his skill. But she always just shook her head, unimpressed.   
Until that day on the train.


	4. off to Beacon, and to Beacon we will go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang awaits their transport to Beacon. Brief but fierce fights, three gunshots, and a hacky sack attack!

Zach, Billy, and Jason stood together at the meeting point, an old bus station, where they were supposed to meet the men from beacon, who were being sent to escort them to the school, as requested by Zach, due to 'extenuating circumstances'.

The men were ten minutes late. Jason, always the pessimist, said 'they aren't coming' for the fifth time in as many minutes. Billy sat to the side, playing with a hacky sack he had found under one of the cracked, yellow seats. Zach paced, the baseball cap on his head giving an odd twitch as his ears searched for the sounds of an approaching car. He was becoming increasingly uneasy, and the constant shish/wack of the hacky sack was grating on his nerves. 'Another five minutes and we'll leave,' he thought.

Three minutes later, an unremarkable black SUV pulled into the parking lot, followed shortly by another, this one dark Blue. Zach, always scanning for a trap, looked hard at the cars. The were built tough, but without any remarkable modifications. The silence of their engines leaned towards a lack of turbo, but it could easily be masked through numerous means. However, they could just be innocent people. The cars shared no noticeable features, even the colors. 

The people who got out were equally unremarkable, each dressed differently, but with the general uniform being shorts, tees, and tennis shoes. No noticeable bulges to indicate hidden weapons, but Zach's own weapons were proof enough that just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't there. Each of the men appeared to be roughly college aged, and as they spoke to each other, they acted like friends readying themselves for some sort of trip. It might have been believable if it wasn't 9:14 pm.

Zach turned away, but kept an ear on them as he scanned for the trap. Another black car, this one bearing beacon's emblem, pulled up to the curb, and a man and a women stepped out, wearing matching black clothes. The man was almost six foot, if not quit, and the women was about five and a half. Each one had a strange looking black rod clipped to their respective belts.

'Those are stun rods. They want us alive.' Jason said, appearing bored even as she scanned the college students, who were now walking towards the group, appearing, to anyone else, like a group of guys out for a night on the town, laughing and shouting to each other. One of them caught Jason's eye, and let out a cat call. 

'Yeah, their in on this.' She said, calling out the distance between them and the enemy while Zach stepped forward to confront the 'Beacon employees'. Billy continued with the hacky sack, seemingly oblivious to the danger. Shish/wack. Shish/wack. Shish/wack.

"Are you the ones who will take us to Beacon?" Zach asked, trying to appear calm. Shish/wack.   
"Yes, but we were told you'd have something for us." Shish/wack.   
"Is that so? I was told no such thing." Shish/wack.   
'Thirty meters and closing' Jason said, letting out a yawn. Shish/wack.   
"We have a letter from the headmaster saying otherwise" the women said, holding out a folded up piece of paper, inviting him to come closer. Her hand was loosely draped over her thigh, her palm resting on the rod, relaxed. Shish/wack.   
'Ten meters. If we're going to do something, now would be a good time.' Shish/wack.   
Zach stepped forward, hand held out lazily, telling the woman to give him the paper. Shish/wack. She gritted her teeth, but stepped forward, placing the paper in his hand. He unfolded it, pretending to look, but the second it was open, he saw her hand grip sharply at her stun rod. 

He shouted "NOW" and jumped back, the women suddenly finding her face acquainted with a high speed hacky sack.

Billy, even as he spun to deliver the almost lethal kick to his squishy projectile, pulled from his pocket a home made Dust bomb, it's sole purpose to provide a smoke screen on impact. He hurled the bomb into the pack of college students, who had produced a verity of collapsible weapons. Caught off guard, they stumbled back as the smoke enveloped the bus stop. Billy, knowing the plan, leapt up onto the girders situated across the roof of the bus stop. 

When things got bad, and he wasn't good enough for the open encounter, get out of the way and provide cover fire. He unfurled Burning Thorn, and with the flick of a switch, it turned into a single shot buffalo rifle. It had maximum power and range, but its one shot magazine and length made it difficult to use in any close quarters combat. From his vantage point, he could openly fire at any opponent with minimum danger to himself.

Zach and Jason placed their backs together, Zach pulling his swords out from beneath his trench coat, keeping them separate to allow for maximum coverage, Jason pulling a katana out of thin air, allowing for a good balance between length and versatility. 

The women, enraged at the indecency of the weapon used against her, screeched, shouting "GET THEM!" Before a high impact round slammed into her male companion, shattering his sternum before puncturing his heart. He fell back, blood spraying as he hit the ground, lifeless. She gritted her teeth again, then decided to leave before something worse happened. She jumped into the car, driving of as a second round punched through the rear door.

Zach and Jason were surrounded, each of the SUV s having been fully loaded. The smoke was dissipating, revealing the full extent of the problem. 16 men surrounded them, armed with swords and knives aplenty, the man from the car lay off to the side, a pool of blood spreading around his body. The car was gone, as was the women. The men before them were dressed for a vacation, but the clothing was hardly restricting. 

These ones knew what they were doing. Billy was over head, and fired a round at one of the men. The man, instead of falling, sidestepped the hit, and during the moment of distraction, hurled a knife at Billy, catching him unprepared. His aura absorbed the blow itself, but the force behind it was too much, and Billy was knocked from his perch. He landed on his feet, but had to jump quickly to Zach and Jason so he wasn't sliced to pieces by the gang of thugs. The formed a rough triangle, trying to decide how to deal with this threat. 

The group of thugs pulled in closer, forming a rough double line. Enough of them staying back to cover them in case they tried to run. Zach readied his swords, preparing for the fight. Three men charged forward, closing the gap quickly. The one that charged Zach was using a bulky military style trench knife, one side smooth, the other with an inch long serration. They clashed, Zach not even blinking as he leveled his other sword at the crowd and firing. Suddenly finding themselves the targets, the outer wall of thugs began to crumble.

His opponent spun away, sporting numerous cuts and wounds from his sword. As he watched, the wounds began to heal, telling him that most of the thugs had a basic understanding of aura-works and control.

'Watch out, they've been trained for this.' Jason said, a little too late.

Three more thugs joined the first, leaving the others to try and cover all the open angles. Billy had beaten back his opponent, but he wouldn't survive another assault, not by two opponents. Jason's opponent was being dragged back to the line of remaining thugs, holding his guts in as best he could. The wound wasn't lethal, not entirely, anyway, but there was a lot of blood now, the ground slick.

Zach was considering running for it when a man and an oddly dressed woman jumped down from the rafters over head. They had appeared so quickly, even Zach and Jason hadn't heard them coming. The women wore mostly white, with small glasses balancing on her nose, and a black and purple cape strung across her back. He recognized her a Galinda Goodwich, three time recipient of the huntress of the year award, and vice principal at Beacon academy. The man was unfamiliar, but from the way he held his twin bladed axes, he seamed to be a huntsman of notable caliber.

"These children are under our protection, if you do not desist, we will resort to deadly force." The man said, his voice deep and deadly, like a sunken ship. The men considered for a moment, before turning and retreating to their cars. As they drove away, the two adults turned to the armed children they had just saved.

Zach stepped forward, extending a hand as he said "my gratitude, mam and sir. I take it the two of you were supposed to be the ones to collect us?" 

The man nodded, saying "unfortunately, our car was stolen. If we hadn't heard the gunshots kid, we may not have made it. I'll admit that when I heard extenuating circumstances, I was skeptical, but considering what just happened, perhaps I was wrong." 

He smiled, and his whole face changed, like a kind uncle. Zach responded, saying "no problems, it seems. We have our things, and I think we should leave. If you would lead the way, you needn't worry about speed. We can keep up."

The man laughed, a deep, reassuring sound, and said "I like this one, plenty of spunk. Alright youngsters, let's go." He jumped up, using his moment to climb a building on the opposite side of the street, the group following. Galinda rolled her eyes, and in the process, noticed the body on the ground. It troubled her that children would be forced to commit such an act, but the police had already been notified, and the situation could be explained later. She turned, leaping after the group.

After they had all left, a shadow unfurled itself from the nearby parking lot. He had seen the whole fight, and couldn't hide his admiration. He almost wished the hunters hadn't shown up, if only to see how many the kids brought down before they were killed. He examined his scroll, then turned and walked off, melting back into the shadows without effort.


	5. Meeting the Headmaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meets Ozpin, and they talk. Really, that's about it. Filler chapter.

Zach stood between Jason and Billy, hands crossed behind his back as he waited for the headmaster to say something. In one hand he held a file on the bus station incident, in the other, a cup of black coffee. His gray hair was surprisingly stylish, spiked in such a way as to make him look much younger than he was. His glasses would have looked comical or ridiculous on anyone else, but they fell quite naturally in with his stern expression. He looked as if he was constantly calculating, trying to decide what move to make in a difficult game. His eyes showed kindness, but also an interesting amount of pain. Zach recalled that the man before him had once been the top rated huntsman in the world.

Ozpin drank from his cup before settling into his seat, hands pressed together as he appraised the three children before him. He ignored the transcripts and birth certificates that spread out on the table before him, and read the bodies and expressions that were presented. It was clear that all of them possessed talent, though Jason and Zach more so the Billy. It was also clear that they were used to being given orders in an almost military fashion, and possibly to severe self discipline. 

Zach had a cocky air about him, but not one that rang of self importance. He appeared as nothing more than a man who knew his limits, and found them to be exceptional. He also appeared to be older than the other two, and possibly the leader of the group.

Jason was just as rigid, her eyes hard and focused, forcing herself to take in every inch of the room. The eyes of a hunter, but not a hunter of Grimm, perhaps. She constantly checked the windrows and doors, and stood at and angle to Fredrickson, the male huntsman who had collected them, and who was also standing behind the trio.

Billy, on the other hand, fidgeted under Ozpin's gaze, like a child caught misbehaving. He seemed young, innocent and inexperienced. However, Ozpin was also aware that he had killed a man at the bus station. He appeared to show no remorse, or any feeling really, at least not in relation to the indecent itself. His birth certificate had him listed as a William Turner. Ozpin doubted it was his real name. 

The circumstances under which they arrived were enough to throw anything and everything they said into question. 

"So, you were targeted, approached, and assaulted by not one, but three groups of strangers? Is that correct?" He asked, looking at their faces to gauge their reactions.

"Yes, sir. We were waiting for our escort, and they attacked us without provocation. We defended ourselves, and in doing so, killed one of the assailants." Zach's tone was clipped, practiced as his speech was.

Ozpin saw the lie in his eyes, but also registered pain, deep pain. And something else, something that he knew well. Fear. He was afraid. But not for himself. He was afraid for his friends. He didn't want past mistakes to force them to lose all of their hard work.

"It would seem you have remarkably bad luck then, three children suddenly finding themselves the target of so many bad people. I know your hiding something. I also suspect your papers are not entirely accurate, if not outright fake."

Zach swallowed nervously, suddenly anxious. "Sir, please. Those documents are accurate, and we passed the entrance exam. If you have to, send me away, but don't turn away my companions. Sir."

Ozpin nodded, and held up a piece of paper. "If I sign this page, you will be allowed to enter my school. However, before I sign, I need to know one thing. Are you willing to risk your lives not just for each other, but for every man, women, and child that enters this school, regardless of past mistakes and issues?"

Zach and Billy each gave a crisp "Sir, yes sir." And Jason nodded.

Noticing her lack of speech, Ozpin turned to her, saying "and what might your story be, young lady?"  
Zach answered, saying "my apologies sir, she doesn't speak. She has taken a vow of silence, and has upheld it for almost 12 years."  
This was news to Ozpin, and he said "but how do you plan to work with your team mates if you can't speak?"   
She turned to Zach and nodded, to which he said "she can speak sir, just not in the traditional sense. For reasons we don't quit understand, she can speak to people with her mind. But only if she trusts them completely. For instance, she's been able to speak to me ever since we met, but it wasn't until last week that she could speak to Will as well. She's been trying to communicate with others, but so far has been unsuccessful."  
Ozpin nodded, thoughtful.  
"Your file claims you can mimic other peoples semblances. Is this true?"  
Jason nodded.  
"Can you give me an example. Using mine, perhaps?"  
Jason shook her head, and Zach said "she can only use ones she witnesses, or has felt the effects of. For example."  
Zach concentrated, then teleported a few inches to the left. Ozpin nodded, having read that as well. Then Jason stepped forward, duplicating the maneuver. Zach nodded to Billy, who reached out a hand and, without touching it, lifted a stapler off the desk. It hovered in the air for a moment before sinking back down. Once again, she duplicated the action, actually giving the stapler a little flip before putting it back down.  
Ozpin sat back, appraising Jason with renewed interest. Zach said "we also noticed that most combat related semblances are less powerful when used by her. She'll never admit it, but using both of those powers without sufficient sleep has her head spinning."   
Jason punched him on the arm as hard as she could. Unfortunately, he was right, and the punch didn't do the damage it was supposed to. She was reeling from lack of sleep and energy, and Zach had to catch her before she fell. Ozpin, to his credit, took pity on the group.  
"Very well," he said, turning to the papers on his desk, "you may use the next week to rest and recuperate, and next Monday, the other students will arrive. I will allow you all to attend my school, but do not think I forgot the situation you left behind. I have an unpleasant feeling that we have not seen the last of those 'strangers'. You may use the dorms for now, but know this. The three of you could well be split into three different teams. Are you prepared for that?"

The trio nodded, having considered the problem at great length. If they were separated, they were all at even greater risk. However, they were prepared. Ozpin could see an interesting resolve in their eyes, and smiled. They would be great huntsman.   
"Then you may go. Fredrickson, if you would show them the way, I would speak with Galinda."   
The big huntsman nodded, leading the children out while being as loud as he could, laughing as he described the school. "He'll make a good friend to those children. If they open up to him, we may be able to glean the exact nature of the threat to them." Galinda said, scrolling down on her tablet, checking the new arrivals for the school.  
"They won't. Not with someone who won't understand. They'll play close to the chest, staying together. No mater what I said, I have a feeling they did enough research to know how next week will unfold. They'll beat the test, rigging the system so that they stay together. Although............" He paused, thinking. The three of them may stick together, but they would get a new companion in their team. He considered this, draining his coffee before returning to the transcripts and applications for the many incoming students.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Zach lay on three beds they had pushed together in the center of the room, the two most important things in his life asleep on his chest, arms around him like a stuffed animal to most children. He smiled, Jason cute little huffs mixing with Billy's outright snores. 'I won't lose them. I won't lose anyone else I love,' He thought to himself, remembering the night he had been left alone on a cold street corner by the father that resented him.

He had only been 6, and the cursed man had left him as far from home as he could get, leaving him alone with only his stuffed lion. He spent three days on that corner, waiting for him to come back, to take him home. But he never did. On the forth day, a group of older kids, human kids, had attacked him, stealing his lion and ripping it apart in front of him. They had been about to beat him up when a group of adults, both faunus and human, chased them off. They took him, a scrawny little lion cub left out in the rain, to the Hotel Homestead, the homeless shelter were they lived.

They had saved his life, training him, and slowly he grew from weak to strong. He promised himself he would never let the weak fall to the strong or the evil. When the gang took it's bad turn, he decided what better way to help people than being a huntsman. It took surprisingly little effort to convince Jason to come with him, though she still wouldn't tell him why.

With all they had been through together, it troubled him that she still kept secrets from him. And he worried for Billy. He may have had training, but he only seemed overly skilled at creating explosives. He had engineered the charges they had used to blow the train tracks. His combat skills were growing, but so far it was slow. Zach decided to ask Ozpin if they had a gym or sparring chamber that they could use. 

The school itself was beautiful, but surprisingly empty, with them having arrived before the semester started. A few year-round students wandered the campus, appearing lost or alone out the window. Zach settled in to his bed gently wrapping his arms around the two people who lay with him, and whispered before he fell asleep "I love you, and I'll never let anything tear us apart."

Jason heard this, not quite as asleep as Zach thought, and her heart fluttered. She had never had a family, and even these two were little more than close friends, at least, that's what she thought. She smiled as she considered that maybe she had finally found a home were she belonged. 

The trio slept soundly, mostly dreamless except for a brief memory from Billy, which they all shared. It was of one of the few happy moments they had shared since coming together, the night they had gotten the transcripts, ready for their new lives, a second chance among society as (mostly) normal citizens.

Unknown to them, in a tree across campus stood Hunter, watching them through the lenses of a set of high powered binoculars. Next to him squatted another man, a hood concealing most of his features. The only part of his face that was visible was hideously scared, grim looking acid burns turning his mouth into a misshaped mess. The smile he gave revealed a set of teeth that belonged anywhere but on a human, vicious fangs curling down from blackened gums.

He spoke, and his voice dragged out like a man buried alive. "When do we move on them, master?"

Hunter straightened and said, "soon, at the teaming contest in the forest. They'll be separated and confused, disoriented as they try to find each other. Easy targets for the two of us. We'll kill the spear user first. After he had the audacity to use my armor against me, and I will enjoy feeding him to a Beowulf."

The younger man smiled again, then let out a howl, imitating the aforementioned Grimm. "It will be my pleasure to avenge your loss, master."

Hunter reached out, scratching the young man's head through the rough cloth. "Do not be hasty. Though he may seem weak, he also appears to be the only one willing to kill his assailants. No matter how little skill he has, his resolve is still impressive, and that makes him dangerous. We will bring him down together. Now go, into the forest. We must prepare."

The duo left the tree, disappearing into woods behind it.   
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Over the next few days, Jason and Zach drilled Billy almost nonstop, preparing him for the forest. To his credit, he was a quick learner, and often they asked for help from the few students that were on campus. Usually, they ended their training with sparring matches, pairing up in two on two fights, never the same pair twice. Their sparring drew crowds of teachers and students. 

During their first bout, a teacher, actually thinking they were fighting, stepped in to end the match, saying that it was unbecoming of huntsman to squabble. After explaining that they were simply training, she backed off, and now insisted on judging the matches.

New students were trickling in, swelling the crowd of spectators that gathered to watch the bouts. It also brought new opponents as more students began to participate. After a while, they decided to do four-on matches, allowing for a more versatile training schedule. Four on one-three allowed for an outnumbered scenario, and Zach and Jason could tell they were helping some of the new students with the scenario play.

One day, they had a two v four match, Jason and Zach verses three newcomers and Billy. Ozpin and Galinda stood at the back of the sparring room, watching carefully. The scenario was that the two, separated from their other teammates, ran afoul of a group of thugs in a crowded forest. They had marked certain parts of the floor to represent trees, and stepping on one gave you a five second penalty. The two groups square off, Lilly to the left and Zach to the right. Billy and his team mates spread out among the 'trees', waiting for the signal to start.

The teacher blew a whistle, and the students ran at each other, carefully avoiding the x's on the ground. Billy and his partner had chosen Zach as their target, swinging in from both directions. Billy's counterpart, a blonde teen with a pair of flaming blades swung in from Zach's left, Billy from the opposite side.

Zach swung his swords, catching Burning Thorn with one as he parried the flaming blades of the other opponent. Billy kept back, using the spear's reach to redirect Zach's blades as best he could. Thanks to his allie's two blades, Zach was forced to concentrate on defending himself more so than doing damage.

One of the fire swords passed over Zach's face as he leaned back, avoiding the slash without issue. He swung his left sword, slamming the flat of his blade against his opponents knuckles, forcing him to drop the sword. With only one left, he was at a disadvantage, and tried to retreat. Unfortunately his back was to an x, and with two vicious slashes, Zach dropped his aura into the red zone. Unable to continue, he dropped to the ground, playing dead till the end of the match. Zach turned to confront Billy, and was suddenly hit by a massive weight, throwing him backwards. Billy was using the Buffalo rifle function, the open barrel smoking as he loaded another round.

Zach's aura was at the bottom of the yellow, a testament to the weapon's power. Another hit would end the match. He looked at Billy and was surprised by the look in his face, completely focused as he readied to shoot him again. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten Jason, who slammed into him from the side, throwing him onto an x, freezing him for five seconds. He submitted, mostly because he didn't want to be hit that hard again, and the match ended.

At the back of the room, Ozpin turned to Galinda and said "it would appear that they have quite a bit of experience dealing with fighting. They've been here five days, and already they've taught the students more than we do in the first semester."

Galinda appeared to be disapproving of the way they were teaching. She said "their fighting styles are viscous, like they really are trying to kill each other. Its no wonder most of the other students don't stand much of a chance against them."

"Its because of that that they'll be great Hunters. The other students will have to learn to emulate them. So much as a single misstep could get them killed. They need to learn that, and what better way than by having at each other."

Ozpin turned and left, Galinda just shaking her head as she followed.


	6. Ready, Set, Begin!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another filler chapter, but I the next to will be almost all action. Tiny smut for more expecting fans.

Zach woke up on the day of the student mass arrival, Billy already dressing while Jason was still curled up on his chest. Despite not wanting to, he shook her gently, waking her as they rolled out of bed, readying themselves for the ordeal of the day. After 4 weeks together in various cramped and closed places, modesty was not an issue, the trio dressing and readying themselves in record time, since they didn't bother to cover themselves.

After half an hour and a brief fight for the shower, they were ready, reporting to the meeting hall for the student reception. As the students arrived, they filed into the main hall for the introduction Ceremony. Zach scanned the crowd, noticing several students who he had trained and trained with for the past week. One in particular caught his eye, a pretty faunus that stood in the corner next to Jason. Interestingly, they seemed to be having an animated discussion in sign language, one of the many things Jason had mastered.

She was dressed in leather and chain mail armor, and when she moved, the armor seemed to shimmer, light playing across the metal. A pair of ivory plated pistol butts stuck up from holsters on her hips, and two brown rabbit ears raised up from her brunette hair. She had a shy air to her, appearing for all the world like a little girl. However, there was also an edge to her stance, betraying her awareness to her surroundings. 

Zach took note and kept moving, eyes straying to were Billy stood, laughing and talking with another girl. This one wore a cotton white dress, a wooden rod protruding from either side of her body, situated above her hips. Her face and skin were a pale white as well, although much more natural looking. She laughed at something Billy said, and her voice was clear and light, like the tone of a church bell.

Zach started to moved on, but then saw something that stopped him short. On the back wall, away from the other students, stood a young man, probably 17, who wore a brown tunic, concealing most of his body. His face, the upper half, was tanned, his eyes a cruel ice blue, his hair jet black. His mouth was hidden behind a red clay mask, thin slits situated in rows of three on the mask. On the mask were three black stripes, running up and down over the slits.

The man was looking straight at him, and when their eyes met, he winked, then disappeared into the crowd. Before Zach could decide what to think of this development, a voice rang out from the front of the room, saying "students, please gather at the foot of the stage."

There was a rush as the students pushed forward, the crowd thickening. Jason and Billy rejoined Zach, and they made their way to the back of the crowd. He couldn't see the man anymore. 

"Attention students. Welcome to Beacon. You all have been accepted as future huntsmen and huntresses for the protection and expansion of our world. You will be separated into pairs, then joined together in Teams of four. Those teams will be your family for the duration of your stay here at the academy. Each team will be given a team leader, who will act as representative. Now, before we turn in for the day, a few words from our head master."

She stepped to the side, and Ozpin walked to the microphone. 

"Welcome to my school, ladies and gentlemen. You all have worked hard to get here. But any pain you have endured up to this point in your schools will have been child's play compared to what you will go through here. You limits will be tested, then broken. Your aptitude will be strained, your minds pushed to the absolute limit. In some cases, you will be put in danger, and if you are not strong enough, you could very well die. Any and all of you have the potential for greatness. Your status in society before now matters not. No amount of money or sob stories will help you graduate from this school. That being said, neither will your past hold you back. Tomorrow is your first test, and it's results will help us determine the teams." 

He turned and left the stage, his point made. Teachers began to lead students to the ball room, were they would spend the night before the test the next morning. Jason ran off with the faunus she had met earlier, Billy finding the girl he was speaking to before and trailing off with her. Zach began to follow the crowd, until he saw the man from before break away, darting off down a hallway. After a moment of indecision, Zach followed.

Zach was trained to stalk, and his animal instincts helped him stay hidden. After a dozen twists and turned, which Zach carefully marked on a mental map, the man slipped into a dark classroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. Zach slid up next to it, carefully placing his ear against the opening. His advanced hearing allowed him to pick up small sounds. This is what he heard.

"They're here master. It looks like it's for good too."  
"Very good, Axel, very good. Is everything ready for tomorrow? "  
"Yes. I rigged the platform last night. If everything goes as planned, he and I will land in roughly the same area. The tracker is activated, so by finding me, you'll find him. The others are ready as well, should the plan fail."  
"Very good, very good. Do you have my present?"  
"Yes, master. Thank you very much, it should be useful."  
"Very well. Return to the group. We can't have them find you missing."  
"Yes, master"

Zach heard the swish of cloth as someone stood, approaching the door. He hid behind a suit of armor as the young man appeared, masking his presence as best he could with his aura. The young man, Axel, walked by, oblivious to the intruder. Once he was gone, Zach searched the room, but it was empty. Whoever he was talking to had left through the opposite door, masking his scent with some trick or other.

Zach left, taking care to avoid any people on his way back to the group, rejoining it seamlessly. Axel was nowhere to be seen. He found Jason, who was now openly flirting with the faunus, dragging her away until they found a quite corner. As soon as he explained the situation, she turned serious, thinking it over, but they decided there was really nothing they could do unless they confronted Axel directly. They split, Jason returning to her new object of fascination while Zach looked for Billy. He found him, and was a little shocked by what he saw.

Billy and the girl from before were in a corner, making out and doing some more-than-light petting. He considered for a moment, then decided against interrupting. He turned to leave, and nearly collided with the faunus that Jason had been flirting with. She looked confused and distracted, looking around for Jason.

"Oh, my bad. Have you seen a faunus with orange hair running around?"  
Zach was surprised at the amount of worry in her voice. After all, she had just met Jason. He nodded, pointing the auburn haired vixen out in the crowd. The students had begun to break up into groups, talking, comparing weapons, joking. Jason was running around, hair flying as she search for the bunny.

They noticed each other, and Jason ran over. She made a few fast paced gestures to Zach, introducing him to her. The girl stuck out her hand and said "Hi. My name's Bonny." Zach shook her hand, raising his eyebrow at the obvious play on her faunus nature, and said "Hi. Names Zach. You already met Jason, and the Romeo in the corner over there is Billy."

Jason squinted, not sure what he meant, then looked of his shoulder and had to fight back a giggle. Billy had one hand under the girl's dress, the other on the wall as he continued to kiss her. Zach, deciding that Billy was going a little too fast, went over to break it up.

"Moving a little fast, aren't we, Romeo?" He expected Billy to flinch or jump, but instead, he snarled at him, saying "she's almost done, keep watch," and then going back to his administrations. The girl wasn't objecting, her arms wrapped around Billy as she ground her hips against his hand.

Deciding it wasn't worth making a scene about, he turned his back, watching the gathering and keeping his eyes out for teachers. After a few minutes of intermingled gasps and cries, Zach smelled her as she released. Billy tapped him on the shoulder, and together, they escorted the girl over to the bathrooms to get herself cleaned up.

As soon as she entered, Zach shoved Billy against the wall, fighting back his growing anger and his instinct to bash the guy's head in.

"What the hell was that? We only just got here, and already you assault some girl you just met? I'd like to kill you, but that might be frowned upon by the staff."

Billy shook his head, saying "you don't get it. She's my girlfriend from school. We grew up together. As far as she knows, I was transfered to a new school by my parents after the explosion. She knows nothing about the gang, or what's happened up to now. She asked me to do that, and I've never been one to tell her no."

Zach let go of him, his anger cooling, but still upset after his less than careful performance. He slapped him on the back of his head, saying "Be more careful at least. What would you have said if a teacher caught you?" 

Billy rubbed the back of his head, mumbling sorry as his girlfriend walked out of the bathroom, smelling strongly of soap. Zach offered his hand, saying "Well, that was awkward. Names Zach, miss. You obviously met our neighborhood douchebag, Billy, and over in the corner there is.......... Oh no."

Jason was now deep in a make out session with Bonny. "I swear to Grimm, it's like everybody's in heat. Excuse me, miss. Billy, come on."

They ran over, Zach grabbing the back of Jason's shirt as he ran past, yanking her away from Bonny and dragging the pair along until they were in a relatively empty section of the room. "Really Lilly? I almost just killed Billy for the same thing!"

Jason wiped a line of drool from her chin. It had been a pretty tonguey kiss.  
'Just a bit of fun. She liked it.' She said it so matter-of-factly, it made Zach want to jump out a window. 

"Alright, alright. Do as you want, but be careful. At least wait till you can close yourself in a room instead of getting thrown out of the school for extremely public displays of affection."

The two nodded, and Zach said "now. We know the plan for tomorrow, right? It should go like this. Every year it's different, but it's also patterned, the cycle repeating every few years. This year should go like this. We'll be launched into the forest, were we'll be forced to find a partner. I'm not sure how partners will be decided this year. They've done a few different things. Afterwards, we'll have to make our way to ruins in the center of the forest. Once there, we'll have to choose some sort of relic. That will decide who our team mates are."

The others listened carefully as Zach outlined the plan. The three would meet at the ruins, gather two relics, then wait for a straggler to come along for the forth team mate. When he was finished, they broke away from each other, Zach looking out the window at the rapidly darkening sky. He found himself suddenly joined by Ozpin, who had appeared out of nowhere. Zach was hardly surprised, knowing that Ozpin had taken a special interest in the trio. 

"Nervous about tomorrow, Zach?"  
"What will happen will happen. There is no reason to feel nervous."  
"Be that as it may. I have two things to give you Zach. One is a bit of advice. Fear makes us cautious, and caution can save your life."  
Zach nodded, taking it to heart. He knew the man was doing more than spouting philosophical bullshit like so many other adults did.  
"And the other?"  
"A fact. Tomorrow, your partner will be the first person you make eye contact with."  
"Isn't that cheating, professor?"  
"Information will not harm you. Its what you do with it that can hurt."  
"Thank you sir."  
"Do not thank me yet. And try to control your team mates a little more. Miss Snow and Miss Franklin appear apriciative, but rules are rules."   
Zach turned to find the two continuing their assaults on their new friends. He turned back to Ozpin, but he had turned and walked away. Zach watched him go, unsure of the man's true intentions. He decided it didn't mater, and ran off to tell the others.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next morning, all the students reported to the cliffs overlooking the green forest next to the school. Each student took their place on a square of steel placed in the ground. The students would be launched intermittently, allowing for differences in landing sights and distances.

After explaining this to the gathered students, Ozpin nodded to Zach, and Galinda activated the launching sequences. One after another, the students were launched into the air. 

'When we land, remember the plan. Head for the ruins, stay unseen, and stay in the trees.' Jason said to both of them, her motherly instinct forcing her to make sure her idiots were squared away. She was launched, followed shortly by Billy, then Zach. Last to be launched was Axel, already relishing his victory as he dawned a full face mask. He was launched, leaving behind the brown tunic as he flew through the air.

Zach drew his swords mid flight, using their shotgun functions to slow his decent. He saw Billy go down early, burying Burning Thorn's spear head into a tree to keep him from crashing. Zach thought he saw another student land nearby, but couldn't be sure. Oh well. He couldn't see Jason, and was fast approaching the ground. With two simultaneous blasts from his guns, redirected his course into the side of a tree, slashing with the blades so he stuck. He looked around, but he was alone.

He checked his direction, then started towards the ruins.

Jason spun through the air, her katars, which she called Retribution's Faith, spread out before her. As she fell below the tree line, she launched the claws, using them to swing from tree to tree. She made a minor adjustment to her course, heading for the ruins. Up ahead, she saw Zach jumping from tree to tree. She swung past him, close enough that he could see the smug look on her face, then pulled ahead. She heard the blast of his guns as he took off after, and smiles to herself. A race, then?

Billy swung onto a tree limb, checking his location by the sun. He didn't have far to go. He examined his surroundings, and saw a line of trees roughly heading in the direction he needed to go. He made to jump across the gap between his tree and the one next to it.

But as he jumped, something heavy slammed into him, and together, they plummeted towards the ground, far below.


	7. Team ZWLB

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy confronts an unknown enemy. The forth member of their team is revield. Action, plot. Back story at the end.

Billy hit the ground, hard. His aura kept him from breaking every bone in his body, but the fall drained it too much to fully absorb the shock of the thing that landed on him next. He felt two ribs crack, and his left shoulder dislocate. The pain was almost to much for him, and If it wasn't for the fact that training with Zach and Jason had given him worse injuries, he probably wouldn't have been able to move.

As it was, he managed to shove off the wiggling thing that had landed on him, drawing Burning Thorn with his good arm, wincing as he felt one of his ribs bend under the pressure. 

He found himself looking at a disoriented faunus. He recognized her as Bonny, the one who Jason was obsessed with. She was looking around, confused to find herself on the floor of the forest. Her gaze found him, and they locked eyes. 

'Dam it, now she's my partner.' He winced again, and Bonny focused on his dislocated arm. Her eyes widened and she squealed "Oh My God, I'm so sorry, I was looking for someone and wasn't paying attention and then we hit each other, I'm so sorry!"

Billy softened, her airheadedness rubbing against his anger, scrubbing it away. "I'm alright. Ow! At least, I'll live. Guess we're partners now. Names William, but you can call me Billy."

"I'm Bonny. If you want, I can fix that for you."  
"Really? How?"  
"I can heal people. Don't know why. Its something I found out I could do with my aura. If you want, I can fix that, and even recharge your aura. But it will drain mine, and I won't be able to fight for an hour or so."  
"Go ahead and fix me up, but don't worry about my aura. It'll recharge in its own time."

She nodded, then gently placed her hand on his shoulder and sternum. He hissed through his teeth, and she flinched, but he just shook his head, saying between his lips "do it fast."

She nodded again, then took a deep breath. After a few seconds, cold energy poured through his body. His mind filled with pain and light, his body paralyzed. After a moment, though, it all faded, and he felt better than he ever had before. He flexed his arm, and smiled when there was no pain.

"Wow, that's useful. Come on, let's go. I take it you were looking for Jason?"  
She scrunched her face up, thinking, then brightened. "Oh yah, that was her middle name, right? Yah, she told me we should try to be on a team together!"

Billy smiled, her child-like energy infectious. He said "alright, let's go," and turned, but suddenly something bright green dropped down in front of him. He jumped back, and a man stood up in front of him. He wore a solid red mask, with two slits for eye holes, and three vertical slits for the mouth. His clothes were an outlandish green, his hair covered by a hood. The way he gripped his weapons was enough to tell Billy two things. He was incredibly experienced, and he wasn't looking for a partner. He was using two bright daggers, which carried a sinister green aura, colored for poison. He didn't speak, but tilted his head to the side, as if listening to a voice. After a moment, he nodded, and with a speed that would have ended Billy's life at any earlier point in time, jumped at the pair. 

Billy jumped back, suddenly thankful for the hours of drills and sparring with Jason and Zach. He shoved Bonny to the side, swinging Burning Thorn like a baseball bat, knocking the man away. Bonny fell to the side, her face suddenly and completely focused. Billy realized something.

The air headed front she had wasn't entirely real. It had a natural enough feel, meaning she was a little bit of what she pretended to be, at least exaggerated her personality, enough to make people think she wasn't a threat, hiding her huntress face beneath the lie. It was the same reason Billy was able to kill the man at the bus stop. His inner huntsman was a savage, efficient killer, though on the outside, he looked like nothing more than child.

Even as she fell sideways, she drew her twin pistols, ivory plated grips flashing as she fired. The shots were redirected by the man's aura, but the force was enough to add lift to Billy's hit, the man flying through the air and slamming into a broad tree trunk behind them.

Unfortunately, the rough treatment only exited the man, laughing as he stood, a horrible, grating sound that made Billy wish he had stayed in bed. He jumped back at the pair, his fighting style turning completely around. All rashness was gone, replaced by a savage brilliance and effectiveness. He slashed at Bonny, and in the half second between the beginning of the action and the end, Bonny's pistols changed, becoming a pair of Elbow blades, ceremonial weapons used by tribes of the southern reaches of the world. They came together in front of her, blocking the strike, but she was thrown back by the force behind the hit.

The man, if he was caught off guard at all, didn't stop, neatly turning with his slash, changing it into a stab at Billy. Billy was forced to double flip back, and as he did, pushed the button hidden within the middle of Burning thorn. A smoke screen poured from the butt of the spear, trailing him as he twisted, coming up with the spear pointed outward to catch a charging opponent by surprise. He landed, the trail of smoke marking his course across the forest floor.

The man had flipped back as well, jumping away from the trap, and Billy began to twirl the spear, sending the smoke out in an ever widening sphere, filling the space between the trees. Unfortunately, the trick posed the issue of restricted sight for both sides of the fight. Fortunately, Billy didn't need to be in the cloud.

He jumped straight up, using what little aura he had recharged to increase his lift. He landed on a low branch of the tree behind him, Burning thorn transferring to rifle mode, as scanned the area, searching for their attacker. Suddenly Bonny, from somewhere down in the smoke, screamed "Behind you!" The sound was so sudden and loud, even the man turned to look behind him, mid jump, allowing Billy to hit him in the gut with Burning Thorn, flipping him over Billy and down towards the ground.

He landed on all fours on the the forest floor. Billy jumped down after him, he and Bonny closing in on the creature that had attacked him. Suddenly it howled, not unlike a Beowulf, and the sound clawed at Billy's ears, forcing him to drop Burning thorn to try and block out the noise. Billy found himself hurled to the side, slamming into a tree trunk, followed shortly by Bonny. Two more ribs had cracked, and Billy struggled to find his new opponent.

It was the man, the same one from the arena, or someone in the same armor, his face still hidden. A laugh broke out from behind the visor, and the warmth in it did nothing to ease Billy's growing anxiety. He crouched before the pair, the armor bending like regular cloth, despite its solidity, and placed a hand on Bonny's neck, appearing to check her pulse. He spoke again, his voice that of a father congratulating his son after a good game.

"Well done. And she's still alive! I think we can have some fun killing this one."  
The man in the mask approached the newcomer, crouching down next to him to observe Billy's pain. The other man spoke again.  
"How about we frame her, huh? What do you think, little bug? Shall I squash you with your new partner's own weapons?"  
Billy was fading fast, the shock from his wounds being to much on his body. He could feel a possible fracture in his collar bone, and was unable to lift his head to look at the man.  
"Oh, such a poor sport. That's alright. The tree was payback for the night in the arena, but maybe I could leave you alone with my associate? He likes to play rough, so before you die, you will feel massive amounts of pain. Oh no, I just remembered, we're on a schedule, so I'm afraid we'll have to cut this meeting short."

He reached over to Bonny, grabbing one of her Elbow Blades, and after a few seconds, was holding the pistol. He pointed it at Billy. Billy forced himself to stare down the barrel of the gun, waiting for the shot. He would die with dignity.

A blast, far to loud to be the pistol, filled the air, and the man was thrown backwards, having taken a point blank shotgun blast. Zach now stood in front of Billy, his swords connected at the middle, forming the dual bladed sword. Seconds later, Jason landed next to him, standing in front of Bonny, a fierce snarl twisting her usual beautiful appearance.

The man spoke again, saying "oh good, the gangs all here. Now I don't have to track you all over the forest. I suppose we can frame her for triple murder."

That made Jason growl, her body trembling as she fought every instinct that told her to attack. He laughed, and said "ah, so this is a friend of yours, huh? Then maybe I can leave all of you to the Grimm, tied to the tree behind you. You know you can't win against me. Not by yourselves."

And then Zach laughed. Billy was confused. Why was he laughing? It was a true enough statement. And then he spoke. 

"Even if that were true, mister mask, you still don't stand a chance."  
"Oh? And why is that, little kitten?"  
"Because a huntsman is never alone."

As if on cue, a dozen students dropped out of the trees over head, landing in a rough circle around the man and his pet. Each one brandished their personalized weapons, a variety of expressions on the many faces. The man looked around at the army that surrounded him, and laughed again.

"Well played, kitten, well played. It's been fun, but I'm afraid its time we left."

He pulled some sort of grenade from his belt, throwing it at the ground. A similar smoke screen as the night at the bus station appeared. The students charged, trying to get the man before he could escape. But there was nothing in the smoke. The students gathered around Billy and Bonny. He was hurt bad, and Bonny was unconscious.

Between the 14 students still standing, they managed a rough stretcher, the strongest students forming a wall around the injured to protect from Grimm. They carried them first to the ruins, were Billy, with his good hand, reached out and grabbed a relic, which in this case was some sort of cups, or goblets. The remaining students also grabbed a relic for each pair, then made their way out of the forest. 

When they reached the cliffs, they were met with the school's medics, as well as Ozpin and Galinda. Ozpin stated "we saw what happened. They'll be healed in time for the teaming ceremony," then walked away. If he thought he would survive the experience, Zach would have punched him.

Jason went with Bonny, but Zach had a sneaking suspicion he knew who the man in the mask could be, and stayed behind to wait for him to arrive. But as he turned to go back into the forest, there he was, with three other students. Axel. Damn it. If Axel was the attacker, he had gotten here too fast for Zach to prove it. He turned and left, following Jason to the infirmary.

Axel watched them go, then smiled to himself. He nodded to the three gathered around him, and they broke away, heading for the school.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
A few hours and some help from Bonny later, Billy was doing sit-ups, making sure his ribs were fully healed. Bonny sat on the cot, leaning against Jason as she recovered her strength from healing the more serious wounds. He had broken his collar bone, two ribs, and his right ankle, and fractured three more ribs, and his left arm. He had also punctured a lung, but luckily, the rib had stayed in the wound, blocking the the flow of blood and keeping him from drowning in it.

He switched to push ups as Zach walked in, looking troubled. After a few dozen sets, he figured he was good. The four sat together on the bed, listening to the sounds in the room. Billy wasn't the only one who had been injured. A few had run afoul of some of the larger Grimm, and, unprepared, had taken a beating.

Realizing that the four of them would be a team, Billy also realized that meant that Bonny was now part of their family. He observed her, listing everything he knew about her. She was somewhat absent minded, pretty, but not overly observant, and a little clumsy. She talked fast, and sometime without direction, words wondering around without purpose. She was easily flustered, and fairly submissive, giving in to Lilly's advances almost immediately.

And yet, he couldn't forget what he had seen when she fought. She was fast, and deadly accurate with her pistols. Her entire personality changed in the fight. She had become calm, cool and collected. She had fired without a thought as to the fact that her opponent was human. And her blades proved that she was trained in multiple martial art forms. She was also talented in the more graceful aspects of combat, and was graced with fast thought and reaction, assessing a situation and responding to it almost immediately.

Over all, personality wise, she was a perfect edition to the team, an odd mix of all three aspects. 

After about an hour, they headed to the auditorium for the teaming ceremony. Billy's girlfriend, whose name was Jewel, became the leader of team JWEL, and Axel became leader of team AXIS, along with the three students who Zach had seen him with before. When they were called up, the four lined up, and Ozpin said "And last but not least, team ZWLB, who will be lead by, Zach Xiao. Congratulations."

Zach scowled, remembering how the teacher had stood by and almost let Billy die. They walked away, stopping only to get their Dorm assignment from Galinda. Because their team was half male half female, they were given a two room dorm. Smaller than a one room, but with two beds in each room. Zach doubted they would bother sleeping in the separate rooms, but they headed there anyway.

Once they were closed of from the rest of campus, they unpacked their belongings. The three who had made up the original trio had packed light, three sets of clothes, some tool kits and spare parts for the upkeep of their weapons. Zach had three pictures. One was of the three of them just after they arrived at Beacon, smiles lighting up their normally grim faces.

The other was of him and Lilly, taken during a mission just before they left, standing over the body of an Ursa as they posed like hunters on a safari. He smiled, remembering how they had fought the beast for two hours before bringing it down.

The last picture was of a beautiful faunus women, his mother. He had never known her, because she died giving birth to him. His father hated him for it, saying he killed her. Zach still wasn't sure if it was true or not, but it was enough for his father to abandon him. She was pretty, feline ears perked as she laughed, her eyes were Bright blue, like the ocean, and she wore a dark read dress that went well with her tanned skin. Her hair was like his, a golden brown mess of tangled locks, somehow appearing gorgeous on her despite it's messiness.

Bonny saw him looking at the picture, and gently draped herself over his shoulder and asking quietly "is that your sister?" She leaned her head gently against his.

"My mother. She died when I was born. I never knew her. Sometimes I wonder what she would think of me now. Would she be happy? Sad? Disappointed? It's hard because I'll never know."

Zach felt a tear roll down his face, but felt no emotion. It was a fact of his life, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well, I don't know about her, but these two are plenty proud of you. You may not see it, but both of them look up to you. Your everything they want and everything they want to be. Just remember that."

She turned to walk away, but the moment was ruined when she slammed into a suitcase and fell. Zach caught her, but she was heavier than she looked, and Zach was pulled down with her. They were in a heap on the floor when Jason walked in from the other room. Instead of trying to help the poor kids, she just shook her head, a smile on her lips as she lay on the bed, putting on her headphones to drowned out the noises.


	8. The Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonny helps Zach, much more than she knows. Bonny has a flashback.

Zach woke alone the following morning. He thought it strange at first, but after listening for a moment, he figured out why. He could hear both showers going. One of the perks of a segregated room was it had two bathrooms. No doubt Jason had convinced Bonny to join her. He stood, stripping out of his clothes from the day before, muttering as he examined the grass and dirt that coated his favorite outfit.

It was one of his favorite things he owned, a soft onyx colored shirt and pants with gold trim set in a beautiful design along the hem of the clothes. The cloth was a sturdy wool-cotton blend, allowing for both maneuverability and comfort. It had been stitched for him by Jason, her skill with a needle unparalleled.

He gently laid the outfit in a laundry bin at the foot of the bed, then gathered his shower supplies as he heard the girls exit theirs. Jason came in first, not even batting an eye at Zach's nude form. But as Bonny saw him, she let out a squeak, unsure exactly what to think about their team leader being naked in plain view. She had thought they were a little weird when they had pushed three of the beds together and fell asleep together. Albeit, she hadn't stayed out of it either, snuggled as she had been in Lilly's arms.

She took in his toned muscles, unable to look away from him, his body coiled like a spring, muscles enough to provide strength without proving to be unattractive, her eyes traveling lower. He was turned sideways, riffling through a drawer, and she saw only his side. She gasped, however, as he stretched, turning away from her to wrap a towel around himself.

His back was a knotted mass of scars, old and new, from claws, blades, a burn on his left thigh, and two bullet holes. She cover her mouth to try and hide the sound, but Zach had already heard. He was saddened that his scars always had this effect. Despite his seeming indifference or pride in his scars, he always felt ugly with them bared. His friends didn't care, but outsiders always reacted this way.

He turned and slipped into the bathroom, surprised by the sudden amount of emotion that filled him at her reaction. Jason watched him leave, sensing his distress for a moment before he shut her out. She turned, grabbing Bonny and dragging her into the other bedroom. They sat on the bed, and Bonny asked "Why does he have so many?"

Lilly signed out 'It's the way he fights. He will throw himself at enemies, trying to tear them down one by one, but he has no strategy. He burns through his aura quickly, allowing easily avoidable strikes to land so it leaves an opening, no matter how small. Believe it or not, he turned away from you, not for modesty, but to hide the worst scars. He hates them, and recently he has been able to alter his style for more defense, but he already has the scars, and there's nothing we can do about that'

Bonny was thoughtful for a moment, then whispered "I could fix them."  
Jason looked at her sharply, not sure if she heard right.  
'You can heal him? I know you can heal outright wounds, but those scars are really old.'  
"I can heal them. But I'm not sure you will like how it has to be done. Healing isn't my semblance, or, it is, but its only part of it. I can heal people on a full body scale, from any wound, old and new, but for such extensive damage, I need to make physical contact."

Jason's eyes narrowed, not sure she fully understood what she meant. 'How 'physical' are we talking?'  
"Full skin contact. Not sexual, but to put it in perspective, we would both need to be at least topless. And it would have to be twice, once for his back, and again for his chest." She gave Jason a pained look and said "Normally I wouldn't bring it up, but you said he hated the scars. And I noticed one of his muscles in his back is severed, not healed right. That could be life threatening if he ever needs that in a fight."

Jason looked her in the eye, trying to discern if there were any other intentions behind this, but saw only concern and the slightest bit of fear in her eyes. She was impressed, considering that she could usually send Bonny blushing with a dirty word or phrase. She nodded, signing 'Alright, I'll ask him. However, you won't have to do it twice.'

"Oh, that's right. You can copy my semblance. But yours is weaker, right?"  
She nodded, and signed 'That's right. Unfortunately, that means you'll have to heal his chest. I can say right now that there's no way I can do that, no matter how strong I am. I'm skeptical as to whether or not you can.'

Bonny nodded, retreating into her thoughts as she considered how to approach Zach about it. Unknown to her, Jason just had. She could feel Zach's discomfort at the way Bonny had described the healing process, and his elation at the possibility of erasing at least one piece of his dark past.

Though modesty wasn't an issue, such an aspect as was described made him incredibly uneasy. He didn't want Bonny to think that he was being a pervert, but the scars were a mark of his past. He would never forget the things he had done, nor should he, but removing such a defining mark was something he wanted more than anything. He decided there was no harm in a conversation, deciding the three of them could speak about it at least.

As he exited the bathroom, dawning a pair of black sweat pants and a thin white undershirt. Bonny and Jason were together in the next room, and he called them over. The sat together in some desk chairs they had moved into the room, and Jason signed to Bonny 'Go ahead, ask him.'

Bonny didn't know about Lilly's talent yet, so she didn't know that Zach already knew what she would ask. "Um, I noticed, that is, I saw your, um, your scars, and, ah, Lilly, well, she said that, um, that you didn't, uh, you didn't exactly, like them. I also noticed one of the muscles in your back hasn't healed right, and me and Lilly were talking, and, well I want to offer to heal them for you!" The last part was nearly shouted out, since she just wanted to stop talking.

Zach nodded, pretending to think it over, said "How would you do that? Fresh wounds and broken bones are one thing, but most of these healed over long ago."

Bonny nodded, then explained again the extent of her healing powers. In her village, she had been trained by the doctors of the village, learning endless amounts of anatomy and biology, and now she could heal most any injury, the sole exception being birth defects and most diseases. She went on to explain that her power required physical contact for those more serious or aged injuries.

She also stated that she could heal them one at a time by using just her hands, but that the process was a constant physical drain on her energy, and it would be faster to do it all at once.  
"And it's going to hurt worse than anything you've ever felt. It will feel like we're opening all your scars up and then burning them closed again."

Her less than poetic way of explaining that was enough to give Zach pause, and he asked "How long will the process take, and, if the pain is too much, will me losing consciousness effect the process?"

Bonny thought it over for a second, then said "With the both of us, not long. You won't be able to pass out though. The process involves your mind as much as your body. You will be forced into a state of trance, and held there till the process is complete. Once its over, you shouldn't feel a thing, but the pain will be burned into your memory."

Zach considered that. He was sure he could handle the pain, but he had been wrong before. As he deliberated, he felt a mental nudge of encouragement from Jason, telling him to do it. In the end, the risk/reward scale seemed pretty fair, and he said "All right, let's do it. How will the process proceed?"

Bonny blushed and said "well, like I said, we'll have to at least remove our tops, that is, shirts, bras, the like. Jewelry to, since some metals can disrupt the flow of energy. Lilly told me your front is more scarred than your back, and any wrong moves can lead to a mishealed muscle or worse."

Zach nodded, removing his shirt as he stood. Bonny couldn't stop herself. She gasped loudly at the sight of his chest. Long, ragged scars crisscrossed his pectorals, most raised like the ridges of mountains. The rest of the acid burn from his back stretched around under his left arm, skin disfigured horribly as it reached what appeared to be the impact point, a starburst pattern appearing on the skin. He had three bullet wounds on this side, one from a shot gun, buckshot having carved into his flesh. A large knife wound stood on his left shoulder, were he had been stabbed by a rival gang. His skin was so disfigured, if it weren't for his face, she couldn't tell what his skin color was.

Zach looked her in the eye and said "Still think you can fix it? I'll understand if you can't. I've had them till now, and I can deal with them for as long as I live." His voice was monotone, having reigned himself to whatever fate would have for him. He was surprised when he saw tears in Bonny's eyes, and she gently traced the path of an old Ursa scar, its claws racked down his chest to his right thigh.

"I can fix it. I have to fix it." she whispered, her voice so low, Zach almost missed it. He said "If you think you can, let's give it a shot."

She nodded, blinking away the moisture, and began to instruct Jason on the exactly what to do to fix Zach's scars on his back. She described where the muscle was supposed to connect, and Zach felt a shiver as he felt her hands press gently against the different parts of his back, smooth skin brushing against his rough, damaged skin.

After describing the process, Bonny said shakily said, "N-now we need-d t-to, um-m w-we need to t-take off everything above the b-belt." 

Zach said "I'll close my eyes if it helps" but Bonny just shook her head, saying "you won't be able to once we get started, so its better if you just don't bother."

She sounded reassured that he was willing to offer, and Zach stepped back from the pair, turning around despite her words. He heard the rustle of cloth, then the crumpled thud as it hit the floor, followed by another. The brief tinkle of metal jewelry followed, and a muffled clink as it was placed on the dresser.

"You can t-turn around n-now" came Bonny's voice, soft and nervous. He turned, and a beautiful sight met his eyes. Bonny was the slightly taller than Jason, and her skin was a nice tan color, her form slim, lacking the usual toning from using heavy weapons. Her skin was smooth, without flaw, and she had an hourglass shaped body. He felt his eyes straining towards her chest, but he forced himself to look her in the eye, his observations made only in the peripheral.

Lilly, on the other hand, had a creamy paleness to her skin, her body, while the same shape as Bonny's, possessing more muscle, with a good tone. Her auburn hair was tied back in a pony tail, her ears poking through the strands. She met his gaze, her eyes hard, daring him to look at Bonny. He had seen her plenty of times, but something about Bonny struck a heavy protective cord within her.

He continued to look them in the eye, and said "How do we proceed?"  
Bonny nodded, grabbing Jason's hand and guiding her. He felt her bare chest push against his back, her hand curling around the burn on the left side of his stomach, her other hand reaching under his right arm and placing itself over his heart. Apparently, the heart was key point in the process, requiring the healers constant attention.

Bonny moved around to the front of him, and he kept his gaze straight forward. She gently placed her right hand over Lilly's, then pressed her body against him. Her other hand moved around his back, draping over Lilly. She took a deep breath, then said, "On three, Lilly. One.... Two.... Three!"

Together, they concentrated, and Zach felt energy pour into his heart, flowing through his body. It was warm, and getting hotter. Suddenly the energy made contact with his mind, and Zach tried to scream as pain, unlike anything he had ever felt, flooded him. His mouth tasted off metal, and he smelled ozone, as if he had been struck by lightning. He felt as if he was being boiled alive.

His body was frozen in place, his eyes open, but he couldn't concentrate on anything as the bounced around wildly. He was on fire, unable to scream no matter how hard he tried.

Then it was over. He was standing. Bonny was in front of him, holding an arm over her chest as she looked over her work, doing her best to avoid eye contact. "It looks like we got everything."

Zach shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He pushed past Bonny, stumbling into the bathroom and looking in the mirror. They were right.

All of the scars, all of them, the marks of misdeeds and fights, monster attacks, and even the acid burn from the damn King Taijitu.

All of it. He couldn't help it. He laughed. For the first time since he was a baby, his skin was smooth. His energy was returning, and with it, a flood of emotion. He felt arms wrap around him as he slid to the floor, tears flowing freely from his eyes. He felt Jason and Bonny, and even Billy hugging him as he sat there, on the floor of a bathroom, feeling free of his past for the first time in his life.

After an hour, the tears stopped flowing, his eyes dry as he hugged and was hugged. After a minute, they let go, and they stood up. Zach wiped his nose, then surprised Bonny, who was still topless, catching her up in a heavy hug, planting a kiss firmly on her cheek and whispering "Thank you so much. You freed me from a horror you could never know. Thank you so much."

Bonny couldn't speak, but she thought 'it's you who knows nothing of horror.'

Images of flames and screams, gunfire and the clash of steal ringing in her ears. She shoved her way out of Zach's arms, rushing into a toilet stall, just managing to shove the door shut behind her, blocking the confused faces of her new friends as she threw up in the bowl. She was forced into the memory, the bathroom fading as she dropped into the middle of a battlefield. 

She stood in the flaming ruins of a wooden hut village, faunus' running past her as humans, armed with all manner of weapons chased them, killing indiscriminately, men, women, and children falling under their blows. In Bonny's hands were her Elbow Blades, which she had called Whirling Isis, however, they felt unfamiliar.

On the ground next to her was the blades' previous owner. Her father. A hole was placed neatly over his heart, dark blood covering most of his clothes, his face was blurred. She had never been able to remember what he looked like. Suddenly, a savage yell cut through the air, and a man, a huge man wielding a massive Broadsword, charged the invaders, yelling something about his family. He cut through many of the intruders, but they managed to trick him, locking him in some sort of metal cage.

A man with a cruel looking set of flails noticed her, charging at her as he raised the flails for a dual strike, she flinched, crying out and closing her eyes, just as she had that day. A sound, like scissors through paper, made her look again. Standing over her was a woman, a beautiful woman with twin katanas in her hands. She had cut the man in half, and as she looked at the faunus child, her face in shadows, the memory faded away.

Worried pounding got her attention. She was curled into a ball on the floor of the stall. Tears rolled freely down her face, and the taste of bile was in her throat. She managed to uncurl, saying "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a side effect from fixing the scars is all."

The pounding stopped, and Zach said "Are you sure? You've been in there for almost an hour."

Bonny swore silently, but said "I'm fine, but my stomach is churning. If you want, I'll let Lilly in, but why don't you boys go grab lunch or something?"  
She heard some muffled speech as they reasoned it out, but in the end, Zach said "Alright, we're going." The door to the bathroom closed, and she unlocked the stall.

Jason saw her, tears of fear, anger, and sadness pouring down her face. She lifted her up, holding her bridal style, and carried her over to the tub. She carefully sat on one side, twisting Bonny till her head was in her lap, and together, they stayed that way. Eventually, emotionally exhausted, Bonny fell asleep to the feeling of Lilly stroking her ears.


	9. the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonny Back story, Soft smut Jason/Bonny.

Bonny's dreams were troubled, visions of flames and the screams of faunus filling her senses. It started on the day her life ended. She was a little girl, playing in front of her house in the little frontier village. The village was started by her family before she was born. Her grandfather was a Huntsman, and had brought his family, at the time, his wife, sons, and assorted immediate family members. Most were trained Hunters, it being the family business. Together, the cleared the plains that they took for their home, killing thousands of Grimm, establishing the territory and the walls of the village. Over time, more people came and went. Almost everyone that stayed were faunus, with the exception of another family of Hunters, a group of skilled humans.

They joined the village seamlessly, although many of the faunus were wary, having put up with prejudice and pain their whole lives. However, after a horrific attack by a massive porcupine Grimm, they earned their peace when the family brought it down, their head, a man named Fredrickson, dealing the final blow. 

The dream began with her and her father sitting on the wooden porch. She was only 6 at the time, but her father said she was almost ready to start Huntress training. He had even said that she could have his weapons, Whirling Isis. She laughed as he told a joke. His face was still bleary, but she didn't worry. After all, it was such a nice day. The sun was shining, and the smells and sounds from the village square were so pleasing. She heard footsteps, and looked up to see Fredrickson and his oldest son approaching. 

They gave her warm smiles, and the son said "Hey, little bunny." Her father and her laughed, and she rolled her eyes and said what she always did. "It's Bonny, buddy." The four of them had a good laugh at their usual lame joke, and Fredrickson left with her father for their daily wall patrol. At the edge of the lawn they met a faunus named Titus, a family friend.

As they walked away, Bonny jabbed the son, a young man named Charles, and yelled "Tag! Your it!"

She ran, shrieking with laughter as he chased her into town. He finally caught her at the south west gate, and, laughing, the pair settled down to catch their breath. After about an hour, they got up to go back home. But suddenly, there was a shout from the gate, and together, they turned, and saw two of the guards dragging a wounded human in through the open gate. 

As soon as they were inside, they lowered the man to the ground, rolling him over so he was face up. Bonny let out a gasp, and Charles had covered her eyes, but it was too late. The man had been disemboweled. It was obvious he was dead. The guard stood up, and yelled "Get that little girl home. I need a medi-"

He never finished. His head exploded, followed by the heavy crack of a high powered rifle. The other guards tried to react, but the two fell as more shots rang out. Charles picked Bonny up, making her ride piggy back as he fled into the town, yelling about the attack. Everyone that heard took up the alarm, and guards ran to respond. But the southwest gate wasn't the only attack point. More shouts were coming from all over town, gunshots and screams filling Bonny's ears. 

Some sort of fire bomb exploded, and a row of houses went up in flames. The air began to fill with smoke, and Charles, blinded, slammed into someone, the impact throwing Bonny off his back. She crashed to the ground, crying out in pain as her leg hit a rock. Charles was thrust roughly to the side, his head hitting a wooden cart with enough force to knock him unconscious.

People were running everywhere, and Bonny began to cry, hurt and afraid. The smoke was thick enough that it was dark except for the flicker of flames hungrily consuming the wooden buildings. A group of men suddenly appeared, surrounding the little girl crying in the street. 

They were haggard, clothes ragged over lean muscles. Each carried a weapon, some special while others were standard, pistols and swords and knives. The men closed in on her, some smiling cruelly. Suddenly, two men and a woman landed in around her. Her parents and one of Fredrickson's sons, a boy named John. Each had their own special weapon, her mother having a beautiful dreamcatcher wand, called Dreamscapes Torrent, her father with Whirling Isis, John with a rather unorthodox weapon, a giant pair of scissors, which he had named Fate's Blade.

The two groups clashed, and Bonny forced her eyes shut, blocking out the worst of the fight. Screams, explosions, and gunshots assailed her ears, but soon it was all quiet. She looked up. Her father was covered in blood, several bisected bodies lay around John, and her mother was limping.

Her father picked her up, and together, the trio headed for the square. John stayed behind to protect his brother. As they enter the square, something slammed into her father. He went sprawling, Bonny rolling out from under him. She managed to stand, and looked around in a daze.

The square was full of smoke, men, and bodies. Faunus ran, screaming and crying as they were chased by the intruders. Her mother was staring at her father, who still hadn't stood up. Bonny turned away, trying to find something, anything normal. A gunshot, louder than the others, rang out, and her mother fell. A small hole had appeared on one side of her head.

Numbly, Bonny realized she was dead, as was her father. For a moment, she was glad her older brother was at Beacon, training for his Hunters license. She gently bent down, sliding her father's weapons from their worn leather holsters. They felt bulky in her small hands, the barrels pulling down against her palms, the grips sitting uncomfortably against her short fingers.

She saw Titus enter the square, tears running down his face as he charged the invaders. He killed a few of them, but was tricked into an animal cage. Unable to swing his sword, the humans decided to take him as a prize when they left. One of the humans noticed her, and charged, laughing manically as he raised his flails.

She closed her eyes, flinching, then the sound rang out again. The scissors through paper sound. She opened her eyes, the fierce woman, Fredrickson's wife, Jennifer, standing before her, her dual katanas flashing in the light from the flames. A cry rang out, and she turned to see the rest of their household charging into the square, John carrying Charles as their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, everyone charged into the space. She saw many of the guards and faunus from the village among them. They swept away the invaders, the crowd growing larger with each foot of ground.

By the end, all of the invaders were dead or gone. 47 faunus and 4 human residents of the village were dead, all 4 humans being from the Fredrickson household. Titus was released from the cage, but he had charged into the Wild after the intruders. As the dream faded, it backtracked, the man with the flails standing over her again, his arms raised for the strike, whistling as it descended........

She finally flinched awake, gasping for air as she tried to fend off the shadows. It was night time again, and she found Jason sleeping next to her, arms wrapped around her waist. Zach's arm was under Jason's side. Billy was actually missing, and Bonny felt some weird sense of relief that her partner was gone.

She stood, gently unwrapping Jason's arms from her waist as she slowly made her way to the bathroom. After answering nature's call, she stood before the mirror, hot water pouring into the sink, listening to it drain. Her breathing was heavy, and tear tracks ran sideways across her eyes, empty of moisture but crusted with salt. She felt an odd emptiness, something she hadn't felt since her days following the attack on her village. She forced the thoughts from her mind, always keeping them at arms distance. 

She had thought she was safe from her past here, but just one sentence of thanks from Zach had sent her spiraling into the past. She washed her face, the hollowness aching in her gut. A knock on the open door drew her from her moping for a moment. 

Jason stood in the door, still topless. Bonny had put on a simple black shirt, but for some reason Lilly insisted on remaining that way. Bonny couldn't help it as her eyes roved over her body. Her skin was nearly flawless, her only mar a simple scar on her right arm, a crescent shape engraved in the skin. She had refused to allow Bonny to fix it, saying 'it's the one thing that I have from my remaining family. I want it.'

She walked in without waiting for an invitation. Bonny couldn't help but notice how her breasts gave a healthy bounce as she walked, and the steamy air from the water in the sink swirled around her. She had closed the door as she came in.

Bonny turned back to the mirror, trying to stop her eyes from roaming, trying to stop the flood of lust and emotion, a combination of elation, sadness, and self-loathing. Unfortunately, it didn't work, since Lilly's reflection displayed her body quite clearly. She felt her arms wrap around her shoulders, her mute beauty pressing against her back. Lilly planted a kiss on the side of Bonny's neck, and Bonny shivered at her touch. A burning sensation was left by her perfect lips, and Bonny twisted in her arms, facing her and kissing her deeply. After a moment, Lilly gently pushed back, giving her a questioning look in askance for permission. 

Bonny whispered "please, take away my pain. Help me feel something else, anything else."

It was desperate, it was wrong, it was everything it shouldn't have been, but it was all Bonny could say.

Lilly nodded, her hands moving down Bonny's back as they resumed the kiss. As they reached the base of her shirt, Lilly pushed her tongue into Bonny's mouth, her hands reversing course under her shirt, tracing their way up her back, her skin flaming at the intimate touch. Their lips continued to press together as their tongues explored each other. 

After a few moments, Lilly broke the contact, lifting Bonny's shirt off in the process. Once it was off, Lilly stepped back, and the two girls took long looks at each other. Lilly, about half an inch shorter than Bonny, found her to be incredibly beautiful. Her tan skin was smooth and soft, her breasts rather plump. Her nipples were already mostly erect, the brown skin pushed tight. Her body was like an acrobat, flexible and fluid. Her big brown eyes were devoid of meaningful emotion.

Bonny saw Lilly as a true hunter, lean but defined muscles rolling gently beneath her creamy pale skin. Her breasts were smaller, but not by much, her pink nipples still soft in the humid air. Her liquid gold eyes traveled over Bonny's body, making several stops at her own breasts.

Neither seemed willing to make the first move, jittery as they were. After a few moments, Lilly stepped forward, arms wrapping around Bonny's waist, one hand carefully twisting the handle on the sink. The flow of water stopped, and she hugged Bonny, their chests pressing together as Bonny reciprocated, her arms moving up Lilly's back to rest at her neck.

She whispered in Lilly's ear "I glad I found you guys in the woods that day."

Lilly shivered slightly as the air tickled her ear, goose bumps playing across her neck. She pulled back, using her hands to sign out "I'm glad I met you." She grabbed her hand, leading her to the shower. She turned on the water, then pulled Bonny into another embrace. When they broke away, each girl stripped, no words, just the actions.

Together, they stepped into the shower, the close quarters pushing them together, and Lilly's hands began to roam, running up the trails of water to gently grope Bonny's breasts, Bonny's breath hitching as Lilly massaged her, feeling her nipples harden under her touch.

Bonny felt the water sheeting down her back, Lilly's hands igniting her skin, a flame building slowly in her chest as she moaned, her skin tingling. One of Lilly's hands traveled south, brushing against Bonny's stomach, the soft skin flowing under her touch. She stopped just above her waist, waiting for permission.

"Don't stop."

She smiled to herself, hand pushing onward. It brushed a small patch of wet hair, then skin, then came to rest on Bonny's lips. Bonny was continuing to moan, Lilly's other hand continuing to gently knead her breast, the hard nipple pressing against the skin of her palm. Her other hand began to slid slowly along the crease of Bonny's sex, the action sending shivers up her spine as her moans increased in volume. She clamped her teeth shut when she remembered that Zach was still asleep, but the noises still slipped out.

Jason, sensing her growing pleasure, began to apply slightly more pressure to her administrations, and Bonny arced, her back pushing hard against Lilly's chest, and she gasped, catching a mouthful of water from the shower head. She coughed violently, her body curling forward, falling from Lilly's hands. She caught herself on the side of the tub, holding herself there until the coughing subsided.

When she looked back, she gave a sheepish smile to a concerned Lilly, who signed out "sorry. I'm not so good at this. I'm just doing what I do to me......" Her hands trailed off, an embarrassed look on her face as she tried to figure out why she had let that slip. Bonny's eyes were wide, and she said "you mean this........ this is your.... Oh my god I I I had no idea I never should have asked I wan-" she was cut off as Lilly placed a finger to her lips.

She withdrew her hand, and signed out 'it's alright. It was my fault. I came in here looking for it. There's something I need to tell you, but right now is not the time. I want to do this right. We have school tomorrow, so how about we go out into town this weekend. I'll talk, and we can decide what to do from there. Ok?'

After a moment, Bonny nodded, and with help from Lilly, they exited the bathroom, redressing, this time all the way, and returning to bed. Zach was curled into a ball, a pained look on his face as he clutched a pillow. Jason suddenly looked worried, and shook him awake.

They jumped back as he woke swinging, flailing about as he tried to fight off some monster or other. He looked at them, and the girls gasped. His eyes were different. One was solid black, the other vibrant green. After a second, they faded back to their luminous green hue. His eyes cleared, and he took in the two frightened girls in front of him. "W-what happened?"


	10. The Dream Assassin.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zach is injured. Jason/axel backstory.

Zach was pulled from a nightmare, swinging wildly at were he thought the nightmare creature was. The vision covered his eyes even after he woke, and maniacal laughter rang in his ears, the voice that of his father, taunting him.

His vision finally cleared, the last of the laughter fading. To one side of the beds stood Bonny and Jason. They were looking at him with something approaching fear, and he said in a shaky voice "wha-what happened?"

Bonny tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. Even Jason was dumbstruck, but after a moment, she said 'you were having a nightmare, and I felt you start to, to ....... You started to fade. It was like you were, you were going to die.'

Zach shook his head, trying to find the truth in her words. But as he did, nausea struck him hard, and he flung himself from the beds, rushing into the bathroom. He didn't make it to the stall, and vomited into the sink. To his horror, large amounts of blood were mixed into the stomach acid and dinner gruel. A sudden pain struck him hard in the stomach, and he collapsed, shaking as he curled into a ball.

The two girls grabbed him, and together, half carried him out of the room. They ran into Jewel and Billy in the hall, and together, the four rushed him to the infirmary. His aura was fading fast, and the school doctors had to sedate him to keep from doing more damage. Apparently, a large hole had been ripped into his stomach. With some help from Bonny and the school healers, the hole closed. But there was no evidence to suggest how it got there.

The teammates were allowed to stay, but Jewel was told to return to bed. The nurse gave her a suspicious glare when she asked to stay, and said "why were you out of bed, miss?" She had given a guilty look to Billy and left. Once Zach was sleeping soundly, Billy asked "what the hell happened?"

Jason, for Bonny's benefit, began to sign out what happened even as she spoke to Billy.

'I sensed Zach was having a nightmare, some sort of battle, or duel. I couldn't make out his opponent, but suddenly he cried out in pain as something stabbed him. I woke him up, and suddenly he threw up blood. We rushed him here, and....' She shrugged, not sure what else to say.

Bonny began to pace, a troubled expression on her face, her eyes closed as her thoughts raced. An old legend from her village, about an assassin from the Putnic wars, began to invade her thoughts. Stories varied, but one stood out in sharp relief now in her mind. The story went that a young boy, with no name or home, was found by the humans. It was discovered during training that the boy had a unique skill, even for a semblance. He could produce visions in a person's mind. When they were conscious, the visions were flimsy, nothing but distractions, really.

But when the victim was unconscious, or asleep, the visions became a terrifying new reality. You couldn't wake up by yourself, and any wounds you sustained, mentally and internally, became real. If you were killed by the vision, you died. End of story. The boy was assigned a name, and a place in the army. His name was Freddy............. Monroe....... Bonny glanced at Jason, but shook her head. Jason was a faunus, and the boy had been human.

The legend went on that when the boy reached age 17, he had disappeared, and over the following years, till the end of the war, people on both sides had died in their sleep from horrific internal injuries. If the legends were true, when the boy was an old man, he had taught his son to use his power, and with it, the son killed his father and took his place.

After some debate, she shared the story with her teammates. Billy looked skeptical, but Jason began to pace as well, and after a moment of deliberation, began a fast paced series of gestures. Bonny kept up for the most part, but once again, she spoke to Billy.

'The man in that story is quit real. In fact, he was actually a faunus, a bobcat. And yes Bonny, he was one of my ancestors. However, about 200 years ago, the Monroe man, as he was called at the time, had twins. The Monroe name had been passed down from father to son for over 300 years, and each man had only ever had one child. At the age of 15, the twins were forced to fight to the death. The winner would earn the Father's powers, name, and estate.

'The fight lasted for hours between the brothers, however, the younger managed to get the upper hand, injuring his sibling. But when his father told him to finish the match, he threw down his weapon, and said 'I don't want you're life if it means his death.' Then he turned and fled the compound. He managed to make it to Vale, and started his own bloodline. After awhile, they disappeared entirely, mingling with society. I was the last, left on the Gentlemen's door step with nothing but half a birth certificate. When I was 13, I was approached by a member of my family, who tried to recruit me. He said he was finding all the surviving members of our family, trying to put us back together, but I saw madness in his eyes.

'I refused, and he attacked me. I held him off and injured him badly, throwing a car battery at him and spraying his face with battery acid, but in the process, he cut my arm. He ran, but I had lost too much blood to follow. He is the only other Monroe descendant. Zach is the only other person who has heard this story. Understand, I do not possess the power of my family, however, the other does. I only ever saw him once, and I never got his full name, but after the forest, I began to suspect. The man who chases us, the man in green, may be that descendant. 

'You described how he howled, and you were suddenly unable to react. That is a possible effect of the mental assault. The good news is you were both awake. If you hadn't, he may have destroyed you.'

Billy seemed relatively calm about the whole thing, but Bonny's head was spinning like a top, and she sat down, hard, on the edge of the bed. Zach woke, his body tensing as he felt restraints on his wrists. Jason, sensing his distress, appeared by his side, stroke his hair as she explained what had happened.

Bonny looked troubled, unsure how to feel about this development. She was dating the descendant of a mass murderer? Not that she was suspicious of Jason, Grimm forbid, but it was a rather odd thing to learn about her family. She lay back on the bed, her neck resting on Zach's arm, though she hadn't actually meant to. The bed was spacious, and fairly sturdy, so Billy joined her, nestling into the nook between Zach and Bonny. Jason hit the light, then removed the restraints from Zach's arms and legs.

He stretched, grateful, his left arm curling around Bonny and Billy, hugged each other, snoring almost immediately. Jason lay on his right, arms wrapped around Zach's chest. After a moment, they all fell asleep.  
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Across campus, Axel stood in the bathroom, washing the blood from his nose. Zach had put up more of a fight than he expected, and unfortunately, his power worked both ways. It was kill or be killed, but something had ripped Zach from the dream before he could finish him off. The stress on his aura had nearly boiled his brain. Axel wouldn't be able to do it again for at least a week.

His power, because it was not 'earned' from his father, was much less powerful than it should have been. Legend had it that his ancestors could bring an army to its knees in one night of terror, that cities would crumble in a week after his family appeared. He growled, frustrated. His curved fangs bit into his lower lip, more blood joining what drained from his nose. He had been trying to target the spear user, Billy, but he was gone, and the two girls were awake. One of the many downsides to his power was that he was still learning to use it.

He could only attack people if he knew, approximately, where they were. He could only take one of two forms while in the dreamscape, and it was rather insulting that, because he was a faunus, the only forms he could take were that of his namesakes, a sabertooth tiger, and a human. He had attacked Zach as a man, but the bastard had been more trouble than he wanted to put up with. In the end, just before Zach had escaped, Axel had managed to stab him, although he was gone before Axel could tell if the wound was mortal or not.

He growled to himself again, toweling off his face before returning to his bed.  
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Billy sat in the back of the lecture hall, trying to stay focused as Oobleck zoomed around the room, explaining the history of human and faunus conflict. The man was just incapable of stillness. Even when you could see him, he was always moving. His left foot tapped out a steady rhythm whenever he stopped running, and despite constantly drinking from his coffee mug, whenever he flashed away from an area, the mug seemed to refill itself.

Jason and Bonny sat together in Alternative Grimm Fighting Techniques, were the professor, a man named Port, was giving a story about how he had stopped a herd of Nightmares, flesh eating Grimm horses, from destroying a frontier village. The two managed to stay awake only because they were deep in discussion about were the assassin and the Monroe might be hiding.

Zach, having recovered from his injury intact, was in the school gym, having a free period. He was practicing with his swords, the constant whirl of the duel blades his only companion in the dark room. He had turned the lights off, playing out a one sided survival scenario. He spun and twisted, his movements growing faster as he began to mix in more and more complex sequences.

After a few minutes, his mind began to stray. He was no longer in the training room, he was in a dark, snowy forest, surrounded by a massive group of feral Beowulfs. Unlike the Beowulfs of the school forest, ferals were unarmored. Though this made them easier to kill, it also allowed for a larger pack, one armored Beowulf usually being the alpha. They were also faster and more coordinated than armored Beowulfs.

Zach ran into their midst, his duel bladed sword twirling in his hand as he dismembered anything that got within reach of the deadly weapons. He fired the shotguns, the force enough to make the sword spin faster. He began to move with the sword, flashing through the pack. 

Suddenly his sword struck metal, and he was pulled from his scenario and back into the dark room. Before him stood the man in the armor, the man who had hurt his friends, his family. He let out a roar, slashing at the man. The man just laughed and jumped back. The metal of his suit began to move again, the gauntlets on his hands losing defining shape, the metal stretching further and further out, until the solidified into twin straight blades, about 2 and a half feet each.

He jumped back in, and Zach disconnected his swords, barely catching the speeding metal before it cut him in half. He jumped into the air, and decided that, no matter what, he wouldn't get away this time. As he landed behind Hunter, he threw his swords. Hunter slashed at them, knocking them away, but Zach was gone. He turned, and two blasts rang out, the Dust exploding, lifting him up and throwing him backwards. He landed next to a tinted window, and as he tried to face Zach, a third blast, this one from some sort of grenade, blew him out the window, the blast blackening the remains of where he had been standing.

The window looked out over the school gardens. Hunter fell, twisting in the air to catch a low hanging tree. It snapped under his weight, and he slammed into the cobbled floor of the garden center. Stone cracked and shattered beneath him, and as he stood up, Zach landed in front of him. Hunter swung, a sweeping, spinning blow meant to decapitate an opponent. But suddenly Zach wasn't there. He was behind him, he was next to him. Dozens of blows landed against his armor as Zach teleported over and over again, slashing, kicking, punching, driving him back. 

The armor began to give under the sheer force and quantity of the blows. It's regenerative abilities couldn't cope with so much damage. He swung a bladed arm at were he thought Zach might be, but hit only empty air as Zach appeared behind him, kicking him into a trench that was awaiting new plants.

As he landed roughly on the bottom of the pit, he heard two loud thuds, and looked up in time to see a pair of Green Dust bombs go off. The trench filled with poison gas, highly flammable. The suit protected him from the gas, but- oh crap.

Zach fired one of his shot-swords, and the trench exploded. Flaming debris, dirt, smoke, and rocks rained down on the garden. The force of the blast created a crater were the trench had been. When the smoke and dust cleared, he approached the hole, careful to cover it at all times. He looked over the edge, and.......

Nothing. The trench was empty. Not a scrap of metal. He was gone.  
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Hunter dragged himself behind a hedge, breathing hard. His gauntlets melted back to their original form. He cursed under his breath as he examined his body. Deep bruises cover most of the skin, and at least 2 ribs were broken. He cursed again, then pulled his scroll from his pocket, messaging his underlings to come get him.

Students and teachers arrived on the scene, but after hours of searching, all they had found were some bloody rags and singed leaves. No one noticed team AXIS carrying a large black bag into the woods. When they reached the edge of the woods, Axel and one of his team mates, a young man named Iain Starling, carried the bag into the woods while the others returned to the search.  
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Zach, Jason, and Billy found themselves, once again, standing in front of the desk of Ozpin. A TV set behind him played the tapes of Zach's fight against the man. Ozpin sat mutely behind the desk, but his displeasure was evident enough. Galinda stood off to the side, barely holding back a rant of astronomical proportions.

The tape ended with Zach, quit calmly, blowing a crater into the school gardens. He winced as he saw the explosion, which looked much worse on the tape than it had felt. The video froze, and Ozpin said "I have aloud you to attend my school, ignoring everything that told me not to, and in less than two weeks, half your team was almost killed, and there have been three attacks made by this masked enemy. And a very peculiar conversation was relayed to me by the nurses.

"You seem to be under the impression that it is our jobs as teachers to keep you safe. But that is only half true. Our jobs are to prepare you so you may keep your selves safe. A very substantial amount of damages were caused by your fight, Zach, and if you wish to stay here, I need to know. What is it that follows you. What is your past, hm? What are you keeping from me?"


End file.
